India's capital introduces stricter anti-pollution measures as toxic smog hides Taj Mahal
India’s government banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, to combat worsening air quality.
NEW DELHI — India’s government banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal for heating, to combat worsening air quality that has disrupted flights and obscured the Taj Mahal.
The new measures, which include sprinkling water with dust suppressants on roads, as well as mechanized sweeping that would help settle dust, came into effect on Friday morning.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who uses only one name, also directed all primary schools to shift to online classes.
They measures also include a ban on non-essential construction and an appeal to citizens to use more public transport and avoid using coal and wood for heating, a government release said Thursday, without saying how long the measures would be in place.
Views of the famed Taj Mahal in Agra, India, have been obscured by smog.Pawan Sharma / AFP - Getty Images fileAir quality in northern India has deteriorated over the past week, with toxic smog obscuring India’s famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, about 136 miles from New Delhi, as well as Sikhism’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
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