Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Saturday, announced that schools in the capital city will remain closed from Monday for seven days. The decision has been made after the air quality in the city deteriorated drastically. The chief minister made it clear that regular classes will be carried out through virtual means from Monday.
Construction activities will not be allowed in Delhi
The chief minister added that construction activities will not be allowed in the city from November 14 to 17. Government officers in the capital city will be asked to work from home from Monday.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the Central government to impose ''lockdown or something'' in Delhi, as the air quality reached emergency levels. CJI NV Ramana asked the government to adopt effective measures to reduce the Air Quality Index (AQI) from 500 at least by 200 points.
"It's a burning issue, you have seen how bad the situation is, in houses, we have to wear masks. What steps have been taken," a bench led by the CJI asked the central government.
Air quality in Delhi in an emergency state
On Saturday, the Air Quality Index in Delhi is an alarming 473. It should be noted that an AQI between 0 to 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', then 401 and between 500 is considered 'severe'.
Meanwhile, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said that the state government is doing everything it can to reduce air pollution.
"The Delhi government ran an anti-dust campaign and inspected 2,500 sites. We have begun the 'Red Light On, Gaadi Off' campaign for vehicle pollution. 550 people deployed to restrict bio-mass burning. Bio-decomposer is given to stop stubble burning," said Rai.
