Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Friday announced that all government offices across the national capital would follow “staggered timings” to check rising air pollution. The decision was taken “to reduce traffic congestion and associated pollution", Atishi said.
The central government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and city government offices will follow the timings as stated below:
1. Municipal Corporation of Delhi: 8:30 am to 5 pm
2. Central government: 9 am to 5:30 pm
3. Delhi government: 10 am to 6:30 pm
Delhi has been reeling under thick smog as its air quality index (AQI) touched the ‘severe’ level this week. The air quality in the national capital remained in the severe category for the third consecutive day on Friday, with the AQI recorded at 420 around 4:30 pm.
Delhi overtook Pakistan's Lahore as the world's most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir's live rankings, and India's pollution control authority said that Delhi's 24-hour air quality index (AQI) score had touched 418 on Wednesday. This was the first time Delhi's air quality plunged to a ‘severe’ level this season.
On Thursday, authorities imposed the third stage of GRAP after the air quality in the national capital remained in the "severe" category for a second consecutive day.
The Delhi Metro also announced that it would be inducting 20 extra trips as the Central agency CAQM imposed stage-III GRAP restrictions in the national capital region from Friday.
Earlier, the Delhi government announced that all primary schools in the national capital would close and classes would be shifted to online mode until further directions.
“Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes until further directions,” Atishi announced in a post on social media X. Following the announcement, the Delhi government's Directorate of Education circulated the order to close primary classes.
In a letter, a network of mothers requested the health minister to provide respiratory aids to children in Delhi. They also urged real-time air quality monitoring in key public spaces such as hospitals, schools, and transportation hubs and advocated for the establishment of low-emission zones around hospitals to protect vulnerable groups.
The mothers' collective also requested the ministry to launch public awareness campaigns, ensure adequate availability of respiratory medications during this high-demand season, and establish health surveillance systems to monitor pollution-related illnesses.
(With inputs from PTI)
