The Delhi government on Friday announced that all schools in the Capital would be closed till November 5 due to public health emergency declared by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority as pollution had reached intolerable levels in the Capital making it a “gas chamber”.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the decision on twitter. “Due to the rising level of smoke in Delhi due to burning of crop stubble, the pollution has increased. The government has decided that all schools will remain closed in Delhi till November 5,” the CM tweeted in Hindi.
The EPCA in a statement said that children in particular need to be protected from the rising pollution levels. “The air quality in Delhi and NCR deteriorated further on Thursday night and is now at the severe plus level. We have to take this as a public health emergency as it will have adverse health impacts on all, particularly our children,” EPCA Chairman Bhure Lal said.
The CM also said that he had a meeting with Mr. Lal and assured him of all cooperation in implementing Graded Response Action Plan and other measures.
Early on Friday, before the heath emergency was declared by the EPCA, Mr. Kejriwal distributed masks to school children as part of the government’s initiative to protect them from pollution and also explained children about stubble burning.
In his address, Mr. Kejriwal told students that smoke emanating from stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana was causing air pollution and asked them to write letters to Chief Ministers of the two States urging them to control it.
