India, Dec. 6 -- Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta termed the persistent smog and air pollution in the national capital "a legacy problem", and said on Saturday that there can be no "jaadu ki chhadi" (magic wand) to control it.

"It is an ongoing process," she stressed, adding that a timeline cannot be given for such problems.

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"We cannot do something like a lockdown in a city like Delhi," she said, speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2025 in New Delhi. She underlined the rising population of Delhi and how vehicles, for instance, had increased manifold over the years, among factors for the pollution.

"We have to keep the city running, and handle pollution at the same time," she said, add...