New Delhi: Scores of people, including parents and environmental activists, staged a protest at the India Gate on Sunday against the worsening air quality in the national capital.

The protesters, many of them mothers accompanied by children, said they had gathered to demand urgent government action to ensure clean air.

"We want to meet our elected officials. We had sought an appointment with the chief minister but were refused. So many parents are here because their children are suffering," environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari said.

"Every third child already has damaged lungs; they will live nearly 10 years less than those growing up in cleaner air," she said.

Another protester, Abhishek, said the government had failed to provide even the basic right, to breathe clean air.

"During (former chief minister) Sheila Dikshit's term, Delhi was known as a green capital. Today, it ranks among the most polluted cities in the world. Politicians keep blaming each other instead of taking responsibility," he said.

According to police, several protesters were detained for assembling without permission.

"There was no permission to hold a protest at the India Gate. To maintain law and order and ensure there is no obstruction in security arrangements, some people were detained," a police officer said.

DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla said the detentions were preventive in nature.

"Only Jantar Mantar is designated as a protest site where permission can be sought by following the due procedure," he added. (PTI)