Delhi government announced various emergency measures to tackle the pollution crisis faced by the city hours after the Supreme Court’s rap.
After an emergency meeting today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced that Delhi schools will remain closed for a week and classes will continue in virtual mode, while placing a ban on construction activities and instructing government employees to work from home, to deal with the pollution crisis faced by the city.
Schools will be shifted to online mode from November 15 and will continue in virtual mode for a week. CM Kejriwal said, “For a week from Monday onwards, schools will be physically closed (they can continue virtually) so children don't have to breathe polluted air.”
The other major decisions include a ban on construction activity between November 14 to 17 and a closure of Delhi offices for a week as well. After an emergency meeting, the CM told reporters that his government will also present a proposal for lockdown before the Supreme Court.
Also read: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata among top 10 world's most polluted cities
The CM said that private offices will soon issue advisories for shifting to a WFH mode. Work from home will be implemented in government offices and a separate advisory on it will be issued for private offices, he said.
The Chief Minister said that pollution level is rising in Delhi due to stubble burning in neighbouring states and called upon all stakeholders to work together to combat it. He added that there was no point in blaming farmers as they were forced to do this.
Kejriwal's action plan comes as the Supreme Court on Saturday rapped the Delhi government on the worsening air situation in the city and termed the pollution situation in Delhi-NCR as 'emergency' and suggested the Centre and the Delhi government to take immediate measures to improve the air quality and severe steps, such as, stopping vehicles and clamping a lockdown in the national capital.