DHAKA: Indian capital Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has shut all schools in the Indian capital for three days as its citizen struggle with choking smog.
After an emergency cabinet meeting, chief minister promised a raft of measures to combat the extreme air pollution, reports BBC.
All construction and demolition work has been banned for five days in the city.
Water will also be sprinkled on main roads to help suppress dust.
Kejriwal advised Delhi-ites to stay indoors as much as possible and work from home if they can.
Other measures announced by the government include fighting fires at landfill sites, and shutting down the coal-based Badarpur power plant.
About 1,800 municipal schools had already been shut in the capital on Saturday because of pollution.
The move came after levels of PM2.5 (tiny particles that can clog people’s lungs) soared to over 90 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 15 times the Indian government's norms.
Hundreds of people wearing face masks held protests at Delhi’s JantarMantar monument on Sunday, sharing their fears and frustrations on social media using the hashtag #MyRightToBreathe
India’s NDTV quoted an official of the India Meteorological Department, who said visibility in Delhi was just 200m (656ft) at 8.30am local time, “caused by the heavy fog and smoke”.
BDST: 1858 HRS, NOV 06, 2016
AP/BD
