In 'gas chamber' Delhi, govt schools shut down, ban on morning walks: 10 updates

The Delhi government on Tuesday decided to role out a slew of measures to help the national capital to breathe easy in the deadly smog.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia addressed the media and made some major announcements.

Though all along he maintained that the situation right now is 'near to severe', he added that the Arvind Kejriwal government won't hesitate from take stringent steps.

Here are some crucial announcements Sisodia made:

1: He began his address with the cuurent status on the deadly PM 10. “The Central Pollution Control Board and other departments like health and environment were monitoring situation throughout the day,” Sisodia said. The latest report by the CPCB said that as of 4:30 pm the level of poisonous particulate matter or PM 10 in air was 436. The Deputy CM said that the CPCB says that the situation will turn severe if this number crosses 500. But the condition right now is “bad” and “Delhi looks like gas chamber.”

2: Then he went on explain the individuals, who must especially watch their health. Talking about the “high risk groups”, Sisodia said that “young children, kids doing outdoor activity, old-age individuals, asthma patients, pregnant women, heart patients and persons with low immunity consist of high-risk groups.”

3: According to the advisory issued by the health and the environment departments of Delhi government, all high-risk group individuals must not go for morning walks, Sisodia said. He also said that the residents of the national capital must not burn crops/ dry leaves/wood/coal as even a small amount of can lead to more trouble right now and add to the deadly smog.

4: The other major announcement made by the Delhi government is that all government-run schools will be shut down for tomorrow. Also, all outdoor activities at the high schools, including morning and evening assemblies have been suspended.  

5: Sisodia also assured the city that a “graded action plan is ready.” He said that the government is monitoring the situation and if it gets worse, then as part of the plan, Delhi will halt the entry of trucks excluding the essential goods supply. The government may also resort to ban on construction in the city if smog persists and air quality becomes gets 'severe'.

6: Meanwhile, apart from Sisodia's announcements, there were other related developments also. Neighbouring Ghaziabad has also decided to close the schools. District Magistrate Ghaziabad directed all schools in the region to remain shut tomorrow and day after, on account of air pollution.

7: Meanwhile, the MeT Department said the situation was unlikely to improve over the next two days as winds were calm and rains unlikely during the next few days.

8: AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria, a renowened pulmonologist, termed the situation a "public health emergency" and stressed the need for initiating a movement to protect the environment. He advised the elderly, children and patients with respiratory and cardiac problems to avoid strenuous activity, which leads to inhalation of greater volumes of minute pollutants, early in the morning or late in the evening.  

9: The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, empowered to enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), also directed the states in the region to start preparing for implementing measures like 'odd-even' in light of the "crisis situation".

10: The officials also directed the municipal bodies in the region to immediately enhance parking fees by four times and instructed the Delhi Metro to lower fares during off-peak hours for at least 10 days, introduce more coaches and ensure frequent services.

Watch Manish Sisodia's press conference here:

(With inputs from PTI)