New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) said late on Tuesday night that all schools and colleges here and nearby cities should be closed till further notice.
The direction came as the national capital region fights a toxic smog that has kept the city blanketed since Diwali.
Therefore, educational institutions will likely to return to online classes as conducted during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
A nine-page CAQM order also advised NCR state governments (Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) to allow at least 50 per cent of staff to work from home till November 21.
Private companies in the national capital region must also be “encouraged” to allow at least 50 per cent of the staff to work from home, the CAQM order said.
Besides the WFH instructions and the closure of schools and colleges, the CAQM order also called for “heavy penalty on persons/organisations responsible for stacking construction materials… or waste on roads in NCR” and “augment availability of road-sweeping machines in NCR”.
Construction and demolition activities across the capital have been halted till November 21 as well, with exceptions made for railway services/stations, Metro operations, airports and bus terminals, as well as national security or defence-related activities and projects, reported NDTV.
Importantly, only five thermal power plants in Delhi NCR will be operative out of 11.
“We have proposed a weekend lockdown, we are ready for it. Our strategy will depend on the court’s directions now,” Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai was quoted as saying by NDTV.
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