Delhi Pollution Schools closed for a week, govt offices to work from home: Kejriwal's measures amid Delhi air crisis
New Delhi/IBNS: The schools in Delhi will remain closed for a week from Monday onwards while construction activities will not be allowed from November 14 to 17 as part of emergency measures to deal with the city’s worsening air quality, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Saturday.
All government offices will all work from home, while online classes for students will continue and physical classes will be stopped to prevent the children from breathing in polluted air, he said.
“Between Nov 14 and 17, the weather forecast shows that smoke from stubble burning will continue and wind will be slow, and this could make the situation worse. During these days, construction activities will be stopped,” Kejriwal was
Further, an advisory will be issued for private offices to try and work from home as far as possible, he said.
“In the Supreme Court, there was a suggestion of a complete lockdown. We are still working out what the value of a lockdown will be. We are preparing a proposal to determine this and will only place it before the Supreme Court as a proposal. This will be an extreme step. We need to take the CPCB, SAFAR, and Union government into confidence, and will discuss with all agencies…if there is such a situation to stop all private vehicles, construction and industrial activities,” Kejriwal said.
“This is not the time to point fingers. Our aim is to reduce the pollution that has increased within the city and created an emergency situation,” Kejriwal said.
Strict measures have become an absolute necessity, he added.
On Delhi's worsening air quality, Chief Justice NV Ramana said: "You see how bad the situation is.... even in our houses, we are wearing masks. Tell us how you plan to take emergency measures. Two-day lockdown? What is your plan on lowering AQI?"
"You opened schools two weeks back. Kids are exposing their lungs to this hazardous air."
Inhaling the Delhi air is "like smoking 20 cigarettes a day," the state government admitted in the court, and added that the state government fully comprehends the gravity of the situation.
The court rebuked the Centre for failing to stop stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. It, however, stressed that stubble burning was a small part of pollution and little had been done to stop oevrall pollution in Delhi.
It also asked the Centre look beyond politics and work with the Delhi government to eliminate pollution in Delhi.
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