Entry of trucks except those carrying essential commodities banned in Delhi

Environment Pollution Control Authority has banned civil construction and demolition activities in Delhi.

Pic courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: With pollutants touching calamitous levels in the national capital, the entry of trucks except those carrying essential commodities was banned in Delhi on Wednesday.

The order was passed by Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal. Also, the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) banned civil construction and demolition activities in Delhi.

At the same time, it announced 'severe plus' or emergency conditions in the national capital.

The smog, which triggered near zero visibility at many places and pile-ups on highways, is a mixture of carbon monoxide, particulate matter such as PM2.5, PM10, ground-level ozone and oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, the Delhi government said in a health advsiory.

The Delhi government announced that all schools in the national capital would remain closed till Sunday in view of the "unbearable" air pollution.

The metro and Delhi Transport Corporation announced decisions to augment services by pressing more trains and buses into service, in a bid to reduce dependence on private vehicles.

On Twitter, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it was "an emergency" and that his office was "continuously trying" to fix a meeting with his counterparts in Punjab and Haryna on stubble burning, a process that leads to air pollution in Delhi.

In its health advisory, the government said people should stay indoors as much as possible as the "smog is poisonous" and may create many health hazards like asthma attacks and other breathing complications.

The day-long average air quality index of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had a score of 478 on a scale of 500, indicating 'severe' levels of pollution, while many individual stations recorded AQI as high as 487.

If the score touches 500 and persists there for at least 48 hours, measures like odd-even and a ban on construction and demolition activities will come into force across the Delhi- NCR under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

(With PTI inputs)