Schools in Gurugram, 3 other Haryana districts closed

The Haryana government on Sunday directed closure of all schools, banned construction activities and advised government staff to work from home till November 17 in the four National Capital Region (NCR) districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar, according to an official order.

The measures were announced in view of the hazardous levels of air pollution on the day when the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in NCR and adjoining areas advised states to get ready to implement measures mandated under the Graded Response Action Plan when air quality touches emergency levels.

The Delhi government on Saturday announced closure of all educational institutions for a week, and imposed a four-day ban on construction activities.

The Haryana government has “advised” all government and private offices to switch to work from home to reduce vehicles on road by 30% as well as road dust, chief secretary Vijai Vardhan said in a two-page order issued on Sunday.

These guidelines will come into force with immediate effect and remain operational till November 17.

The state government has also imposed complete ban on all types of construction and development activities in the four NCR districts, while mechanised stone crushers and hot mix plants used in construction activities will be closed.

“No trash burning by municipal bodies to be allowed and stubble burning will be prohibited. No manual sweeping of roads will be allowed,” reads the order.

In order to control dust pollution, water sprinkling on roads has been ordered and the deputy commissioners will constitute joint inspection teams for enforcing the directions while ensuring extensive checking, monitoring and action against the violators as per law.

“The district administration will ensure wide publicity by munadi (beat of drums) within their jurisdiction,” the order says.

According to the Central Pollution Control board (CPCB), after two days of “severe” air, Gurugram’s air quality index (AQI) reading improved from 441 on Saturday and was recorded in the “poor” zone (287)-on Sunday, with PM2.5 and PM10 being the prominent pollutants.