UP to shut Baghpat schools till Tuesday amid worsening air pollution

After the national capital, now Uttar Pradesh government has decided to shut down all government and private schools in Baghpat district on November 4 (Monday) and November 5 (Tuesday) in the wake of the menacing air pollution and deteriorating weather conditions. Schools in Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Hapur will also remain closed till Tuesday. 

"All schools in the district to remain closed on November 4 and 5 in the wake of pollution; classes to resume on 6th November," said Baghpat District Magistrate (DM) Shakuntala Gautam.

Delhi, UP and Haryana shut schools

Besides UP and Delhi, the Haryana government has also announced that all schools till class XII in Gurugram and Faridabad districts would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday amid the worsening air quality.

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"All the private, aided and government schools till Class XII will remain closed on November 4 and 5 in Gurugram and Faridabad districts," confirmed an official spokesperson of the Haryana government. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that all schools in the national capital will remain closed till November 5. The much-hyped Odd-Even scheme of the Delhi government as a measure to curb the air pollution began at 8 am on Monday. The government on Sunday decided to exempt electric vehicles from the scheme. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot in a statement said that the number of registered electric vehicles in the city was less than 1,000 and they are not likely to cause any congestion. The scheme will conclude on November 15. 

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Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot has expressed concerns about the alarming air pollution in Delhi and its neighboring states and is afraid the pollution is heading towards Rajasthan. Gehlot said that the central government should treat this situation as its 'top priority' as the Delhi government cannot solve this problem alone.

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For the first time in this season, the Air Quality Index (AQI) docked as high as 625 at 10 am on November 3. An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is the "severe-plus emergency" category. 

(With ANI Inputs)

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