New Delhi Nov 24 PTI The Delhi governments announcement on Wednesday on the reopening of educational institutions in the city drew mixed reactions from schools and parents bodies with some saying it is necessary to make up for the learning loss and others terming it a hasty decisionThe Delhi Parents Association said Delhis air quality and the COVID-19 pandemic remain causes of concern and can severely affect childrens lungsHowever some schools said they have made the necessary arrangements for childrens safety and will be able to manage things smoothly as only 50 per cent of students are allowed in a classroom at a timeEarlier in the day the Delhi government announced that physical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions will resume and government offices will reopen from November 29 in view of the improvement of the air quality in the cityAfter nearly 19 months of closure due to the pandemic Delhi schools reopened for all classes from November 1 But the city government on November 13 ordered the closure of all educational institutions and announced several others measures to combat air pollution and minimise its health effectsAnshu Mittal principal of MRG School in Rohini said We are glad to hear this announcement that schools will now be reopened by the Delhi government as the remote learning has been happening for more than a year and students need to have some kind of social interaction with teachers and fellow classmates as exams are approaching Since only 50 per cent of students are allowed in a classroom at a time the management will be smoother she saidThe school is also ready with things like hands-free sanitisers at multiple common points We have also instructed our school medical practitioner to be prepared for attending to students if they display any signs of seasonal allergies due to pollution and winters she addedAshok Agarwal president of the All India Parents Association AIPA said Good God authorities have ultimately realised the importance of school for children It is time All schools should be allowed to run all classes from nursery to Class 12 and that too with 100 per cent strength The government should also come up with a plan to make up for the learning loss that students suffered over the past two years he saidOne way could be to run schools seven days a week he addedA group of 140 parents had on Tuesday written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal seeking his intervention for the reopening of city schoolsThe Delhi Parents Association DPA however said by deciding to resume physical classes from next week the government has once again made a hasty decisionDPA president Aprajita Gautam claimed most parents do not agree with the governments decisionOn the one hand the cases of coronavirus are increasing once again and on the other hand Delhi is battling dangerous air pollution Both of these severely affect the lungs so the parents whose children are sensitive or suffer from allergies are worried about them getting sick when schools reopen she saidGautam said recent news about schoolchildren testing positive for COVID-19 in Rajasthan Jaipur Odisha and Telangana also have the parents worriedConsidering the current pollution levels we believe that if the government decides to delay the opening of schools by a few more days and at the same time runs school buses for more convenience then it will be much better Then parents will surely be able to send their children back to school she saidDelhis air quality was recorded in the very poor category on Wednesday as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed the accumulation of pollutantsThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR said slow local surface winds will reduce the dispersion of pollutants over the next three days leading to deterioration in air qualityA slight improvement is likely from November 27 with an increase in local surface wind speed PTI GJS GJS DIV DIV

New Delhi Nov 24 PTI Delhis air quality slipped into the very poor category on Wednesday as low temperatures and slow surface winds allowed the accumulation of pollutantsThe citys 24-hour average air quality index AQI was 361According to India Meteorological Department Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 92 degrees Celsius this seasons lowest so far The maximum temperature settled at 288 degrees Celsius Strong winds on Sunday and Monday had led to an improvement in the air qualityThe 24-hour average AQI read 290 on Tuesdaythe second-best AQI reading this month since November 1 when it was 281 Delhi has seen very poor or severe air quality on the rest of the daysNeighbouring Faridabad 367 Ghaziabad 366 Greater Noida 312 Gurgaon 305 and Noida 325 also saw a dip in air quality on WednesdayAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severeThe Ministry of Earth Sciences air quality monitor SAFAR said slow local surface winds will reduce dispersion of pollutants over the next three days leading to deterioration in air qualityA slight improvement is likely from November 27 with an increase in local surface wind speedWith the onset of winter local weather is likely to be the dominating factor in determining air quality SAFAR saidEven as the air quality turned very poor again the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to resume physical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions and reopen government offices from November 29The ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 3 However CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi from November 27 Environment Minister Gopal Rai said after a meeting to review curbs to tackle air pollutionOn November 13 the city government had ordered the closure of all educational institutes banned construction and demolition activities and asked its employees to work from home to combat air pollution and minimise its health effectsFour days later it extended the restrictions besides banning the entry of trucks carrying non-essential items in Delhi The ban on construction and demolition activities was lifted on Monday in view of an improvement in the air quality and inconvenience caused to workers PTI GVS NSD