Smog darkens Delhi
THE DELHI government on Sunday unveiled a slew of steps, including closure of all schools for three days, to battle unprecedented smog levels that have drastically cut visibility and turned the national capital into a virtual gas chamber.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also banned construction and demolition work for five days and the use of diesel-run generators for 10 days in a desperate bid to control a crisis that has choked Delhi.
The school closure is aimed at preventing children from being affected by the dangerous pollution levels which have forced people to use surgical masks while travelling in the city.
But Kejriwal maintained that this was a larger problem involving neighbouring states, where farmers are said to be burning crop stubble in a wide area, and sought the central government’s intervention.
“This is the time to set aside politics and find a solution,” Kejriwal said after presiding over an emergency meeting of his cabinet. “The base level of pollution was already very high. We have consulted experts and we are taking some emergency measures,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.
Kejriwal said the coal-based thermal power plant at Badarpur in south Delhi, which generates fly ash, would be shut for 10 days. Water would be sprinkled on the fly ash scattered within the plant.
Water would also be sprinkled on the city’s roads on a large scale and vacuum cleaning would begin from tomorrow (Thursday) in all 30m-wide roads maintained by the Public Works Department, he added.
With high levels of hazardous particulate matter (PM 2.5), Delhi’s pollution crisis continues to be classified as “severe”, with a blanket of smog covering the entire city and neighbouring states.
Delhi’s pollution levels worsened after Diwali on October 30. The dismal air quality has been attributed to low wind speed and high humidity which has blocked dispersal of pollutants.
The Chief Minister announced that to do away with the dependence on generators, electricity connections would be given to whoever asks for them. Hospitals and emergency services can, however, use generators.
– IANS.