Schools in Mumbai’s smog-affected areas reopen

Municipal schools in central Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar and Deonar, which were closed for two days last week due to smog caused by a recent fire at the Deonar garbage dumping ground, reopened on Monday.

Municipal schools in central Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar and Deonar, which were closed for two days last week due to smog caused by a recent fire at the Deonar garbage dumping ground, reopened on Monday.

Municipal schools in central Mumbai’s Shivaji Nagar and Deonar were closed for two days last week due to heavy smog. (PTI Photo)

“The municipal schools which were closed on Friday and Saturday due to smog reopened today,” a senior BMC official told PTI.

Parts of Mumbai have been engulfed in a thick blanket of smog since Thursday due to the fire and other reasons, including a drop in temperature and vehicular pollution.

On Friday, the fire at Deonar dumping ground led Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down 74 schools run by it, as the smoke from the ground veiled the area, causing breathing difficulties.

The schools are located in M-ward where people are complaining about a foul smell due to burning of garbage at the dumping ground, a BMC official said.

Schools in M-ward -- including those in Chembur, Deonar, Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar, Shivaji Nagar, Mankhurd, Baiganwadi -- were closed for two days last week.