Gurugram, Faridabad Schools Shut Till Wednesday Due To Air Pollution

Schools in four districts of Haryana that are close to the national capital will be shut till Wednesday, the Haryana government has ordered. In view of toxic smog and bad air quality in Delhi for over a week now, all government and private schools have been ordered to remain shut in the adjoining districts of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. This order comes just a day after the Delhi government announced similar measures. 

Construction activities, stubble burning, and burning of trash by municipal bodies have also been banned in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat, and Jhajjar districts of Haryana.

The Haryana Disaster Management Authority has further ordered to stop manual sweeping and start water sprinkling to control dust on roads. Like Delhi, all government and private offices have been advised to work from home. The disaster management authority also aims to reduce the number of vehicles on roads by 30 per cent, specific steps being taken to achieve this have not been mentioned in the order.

Delhi schools will also shift to online classes starting tomorrow and all construction activity will be shut down in the capital. Government offices will work from home and private offices have been advised to do the same, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

Mr Kejriwal's four-step pollution control plan, which includes planning for a city-wide lockdown, had come hours after an angry Supreme Court demanded the government at the Centre and in Delhi to prioritise an emergency response over long-term efforts to tackle the problem.