New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced various emergency measures, including closure of schools for a week, ban on construction activities and work from home for government employees, to deal with the pollution crisis faced by the city.The chief minister, after an emergency meeting, told reporters that his government will also present a proposal for lockdown before the Supreme Court.Terming the rise in air pollution in Delhi-NCR an “emergency” situation, the Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Delhi government on Saturday to take immediate measures to improve the air quality and suggested steps such as stopping vehicles and clamping a lockdown in the national capital.Kejriwal said the schools will remain closed for one week from Monday in view of high air pollution levels. Work from home will be implemented concerning government offices and a separate advisory on it will be issued for private offices, he said.Construction activities will be prohibited in Delhi from November 14 to 17.Also read: The Govt Has Spent Crores but Failed to Find a Viable Alternative to Stubble Burning in PunjabThe chief minister said that pollution level is rising in Delhi due to stubble burning in neighbouring states and called upon all stakeholders to work together to combat it.However, the apex court on Saturday stressed that the Union and the state government cannot keep on blaming the stubble burning issue in Punjab for Delhi’s severe dip in air quality.“Everybody has the passion of blaming farmers. Have you seen how crackers are being burnt in Delhi for the last seven days? It is an emergency situation, multiple measures are needed to be taken on the ground level,” the bench said.(With PTI inputs)
