Delhi: All schools shut, construction, trucks banned

New Delhi: As Delhi and its suburbs literally inhaled poison for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, the government announced a slew of emergency measures to bring down the pollution level and protect the vulnerable.

Entry of all trucks, except those carrying essential items, has been banned, all civil construction and demolition activities stopped till further notice, and all schools are to remain shut till Sunday in view of the “unbearable” air pollution.

The Delhi government also said that it is ready to roll out the odd-even scheme if air pollution levels persist in “severe plus” category for 48 hours. However, a statement from the lieutenant-governor’s office said the decision on odd-even would be taken on Thursday.

The thick blanket of haze that hung over NCR scored a staggering 487 on a scale of 500 of the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) air quality index, indicating “severe” levels of pollution which can affect even healthy people and “seriously impact” those with existing diseases.

In its health advisory, the government said people should stay indoors as much as possible as the “smog is poisonous” and may create many health hazards like asthma attacks and other breathing complications.

The polluted air is a mixture of carbon monoxide, particulate matter such as PM2.5, PM10, ground-level ozone and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, the health advisory said.

CPCB identified reasons such as low temperature, poor wind speed, north-westerly winds which are bringing in smoke from the stubble burning regions of Punjab and Haryana, and south-easterly winds which are helping the moisture to build up, for the sudden onset of pollution. Wednesday was also the coldest day of the season so far with minimum temperatures dropping to 14 degrees Celsius.

Meteorological conditions were such that all local pollutants like dust, vehicular emissions, and garbage burning got trapped in the air.

On Twitter, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was “an emergency” and that his office was “continuously trying” to fix a meeting with his counterparts in Punjab and Haryana on stubble burning, a practice which aggravates air pollution in Delhi.

However, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority’s member Sunita Narain cautioned against putting too much hope in temporary solutions such as closure of schools and deplored the “lack of political will” in executing tougher decisions.

The “emergency” measures, taken under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) when pollution is “severe plus”, were announced on Wednesday night after a meeting between LG, the chief minister, and members of EPCA, Supreme Court mandated committee.  

Even as authorities in the city scrambled to tackle the extraordinary situation, hospitals recorded a surge in the number of patients complaining of respiratory problems.

The smog, which triggered near zero visibility at many places, led to pile-ups on highways and delay in flight operations.

The Metro and DTC announced decisions to augment services by pressing more trains and buses into service, in a bid to reduce dependence on private vehicles. The DMRC said it would run an additional 186 train trips from tomorrow.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, “We will enforce odd-even in Delhi if air quality turns severe plus. I have also directed DTC to procure 500 buses on short-term basis to augment public transport till March. Metro has also been asked to hire around 300 buses for 15-20 days if odd-even is implemented.”