Primary schools to be shut, WFH for 50% government staff to amid deteriorating air quality in Delhi

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, announced on Friday during a news briefing that primary schools in Delhi would be closed starting on Saturday due to the deteriorating air quality. Outdoor activities for high school pupils would be limited. This comes a day after Noida, a nearby city, instructed schools to continue holding online lessons through November 8.

He stated that a six-person team of senior officials had been assembled to oversee the enforcement of the restrictions on anti-pollution efforts and that revenue commissioners had been ordered to develop a strategy for staggered hours for markets and offices.

During his briefing, Kejriwal also emphasised BJP leader Adesh Kumar Gupta’s fears. “I saw in the morning that he was talking about his grandson. I want to assure him that his grandson is like my grandson too. We will take urgent measures,” he stressed. “We will try that no children should face any sort of health-related trouble,” he said.

Kejriwal had earlier in the day stated that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration is also thinking of reintroducing the odd-even traffic restriction scheme for vehicles in the national capital.

“We’re taking all steps to control the pollution situation. Meanwhile, we’re shutting down all primary schools in Delhi from tomorrow till the situation improves. Also, outdoor activities for all classes above Class 5 would be barred,” Kejriwal said.

During his briefing, Kejriwal also spoke about BJP leader Adesh Kumar Gupta’s concerns. “I saw in the morning that he was talking about his grandson. I want to assure him that his grandson is like my grandson too. We will take urgent measures,” he stressed. “We will try that no children should face any sort of health-related trouble,” he added.

Kejriwal spoke at the press conference alongside Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab. “We do take accountability for farm fires in Punjab. But we also want Centre to come forward and help,” the AAP chief said.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has voiced concern about the rising air pollution in Delhi-NCR in the meantime. In a statement, the NHRC stated that it was not happy with the actions taken and that: “The NHRC is not satisfied with the various actions taken so far to address the issue of air pollution in Delhi NCR, and it has asked the Chief Secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to be present before it either personally or on hybrid mode on November 10 for a detailed discussion in this regard. The Chief Secretaries of these states are expected to inform the commission within a week positively before this discussion about the steps taken by their respective governments to stop the burning of stubble in their regions.”