Delhi govt orders early winter break in schools from November 9 to 18 due to air pollution

The schools in Delhi are set to remain closed for an early winter break from November 9 to 18 as the capital remains blanketed with the toxic smog since the last six days.

The announcement was made by the city’s Directorate of Education on Wednesday, as it noted that "no respite from adverse weather conditions" has been predicted over the next few days.

The government took the decision to bring ahead the winter vacation, which is normally given to students in the months of December and January, to protect the health of children.

The schools have been asked to adjust the November 9 to 18 holiday against the traditional break in December-January.

The implementation of the odd-even rule has also been halted by the Delhi government.

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The scheme was aimed at controlling air pollution caused by vehicular traffic by restricting the movement of cars on the basis of their registration numbers.

The rule was halted after the Supreme Court questioned the scheme’s efficacy and called it “mere optics”.

"The decision to implement the odd-even scheme will be made only after the Supreme Court reviews its effectiveness and issues an order," stated Delhi's Environment Minister Gopal Rai.

Delhi restarts smog tower in Connaught Place

Meanwhile, the Delhi government stated that a smog tower has been restarted in the central shopping district of Connaught Place.

This step was also taken by the Supreme Court’s intervention.

"I want to thank Supreme Court for giving instruction to restart the smog tower, which was shut by the DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) Chairman," the minister stated.

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The decisions were taken at a meeting which was chaired by minister Rai and saw the participation of education minister Atishi, transport minister Kailash Gahlot and senior Delhi government officials.

The minister also took a swipe at the governments of neighbouring states and central government for "sitting silently" amid the crisis.

Punjab and other neighbouring states are being seen as responsible for the worsening air quality crisis in the capital though now Punjab also has an Aam Aadmi Party government. The state on Tuesday (Oct 7) reported more than 1,500 stubble-burning incidents.

The minister on Monday (Oct 6) had asked all the Delhi schools to suspend physical classes, apart from those in Class 10 and 12, till Friday (Nov 10) amid increasing air pollution levels.

(With inputs from agencies)