Haryana / Schools in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat to be shut till Nov 17 amid pollution

Gurugram: The Haryana government on Sunday ordered to close all government and private schools till November 17 in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar, the National Capital Region (NCR) districts, amid increasing pollution levels in Delhi-NCR, and also announced a slew of steps to curb air pollution.

This order comes just a day after the Delhi government announced similar measures.

The state government has “advised” all government and private offices to switch over to “work from home” as this steps is aimed at reducing 30% plying of vehicles on roads, which will impact vehicular emissions and also reduce dust in the air, 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 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.

While all government and private schools will remain shut till November 17, the government has directed to strictly check vehicles older than 10/15 years (diesel/petrol, respectively) with regard to emissions.

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.

On Sunday the air quality of Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonepat was “poor” with index value 287, 298 and 288, respectively.