Air Pollution: Haryana schools shut until Nov 17; Construction activities banned

The Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana government made the announcement a day after the Delhi Government’s decision to close schools for a week starting from today.

Considering the air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR), the state government of Haryana has announced the closure of all government and private schools in four districts, i.e. Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhijar, starting today, i.e. November 15. The Manohar Lal Khattar-led Haryana government made the announcement a day after the Delhi Government’s decision to close schools for a week starting from today. The decision has been taken to protect children from the impacts of air pollution.

The official statement released by the state government said, “Keeping in view the prevention of air pollution, Haryana Government has taken several decisions regarding four districts of NCR namely Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar. Government and private schools have been closed in these districts. All types of construction works have also been banned.”

The Haryana Disaster Management Authority announced that the new guidelines will remain in force until November 17.

States such as Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh received the advisory from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to close schools, among other restrictions, as announced by the Delhi government, to contain spiraling air pollution levels.

An official statement informed that during the emergency meeting, the CAQM advised the governments of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to "consider similar restrictions/regulations in the respective NCR districts as implemented by GNCTD through its order on November 13 which includes, inter alia, closure of schools up to November 20 and closure of C&D activities from November 14 to 17.”

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