E-Paper
Haryana to DCs on suspending physical classes due to pollution: ‘Assess, decide’
Officials can order temporary suspension of physical classes for up to 5th standard, the Haryana government said in letters to DCs of various districts.
The Haryana government on Saturday authorised deputy commissioners (DCs) to take a call on temporary suspension of physical classes for up to 5th standard after assessing the situation in the wake of rising levels of pollution in their respective districts.
“Letters have been written to all the district deputy commissioners on behalf of the directorate of school education in this regard,” the Haryana government's department of public relations wrote in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter).
Also Read: Air quality ‘very poor’ in Chandigarh; Haryana, Punjab fares relatively better
The letter reads: "The government has decided that the concerned deputy commissioners shall assess the prevailing situation in view of the severe AQI levels in Delhi and surrounding regions and may discontinue physical classes and issue necessary directions for holding online classes for up to Class 5th in the schools (government and private) in the interest of the health and safety of the students."
“The assessment for rural and urban areas may be carried out separately,” it added.
Meanwhile, the day saw Jind district record a “severe” Air Quality Index (AQI) while air quality in other parts of the state remained in the “very poor” and “poor” categories,
In Jind, the AQI stood at 410, while it was at 392 in Bhiwani. The AQI was 383 in Bahadurgarh, 357 in Panipat, 321 in Kaithal, 309 in Rohtak, 297 each in Charkhi Dadri and Gurugram, 289 in Kurukshetra, 285 in Karnal, 227 in Panchkula and 209 in Ambala.
Also Read: 8 Haryana cities in list of cities with ‘very poor’ air
The AQI is divided into the following categories: "good" (0 to 50), “satisfactory” (51-100), “moderate” (101-200), “poor” (201-300), “very poor” (301-400), “severe” (401-450) and "severe plus" (>450).
(With PTI inputs)
