No physical classes for students, barring class 10 and 12: Atishi

NEW DELHI: In-person classes will be suspended for all except for students of classes 10 and 12, the Delhi government announced on Sunday, as the city chocked under alarming levels of pollution for the fifth straight day.

The announcement came hours after the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked stricter pollution control measures for the Delhi-NCR under the Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan, or GRAP, effective from 8 am Monday.

"With the imposition of GRAP-4 from tomorrow , physical classes shall be discontinued for all students, apart from Class 10 and 12. All schools will hold online classes, until further orders," Chief Minister Atishi said in a post on X.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) worsened on Sunday, reaching 441 at 4 pm and rising to 457 by 7 pm due to unfavourable weather conditions.

According to the government's order, no trucks will be allowed into Delhi except for those carrying essential items or using clean fuel (LNG/CNG/BS-VI diesel/electric).

Non-essential light commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi will also be prohibited, except for electric vehicles and CNG and BS-VI diesel ones.

Delhi-registered BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles are banned, except for those in essential services, the panel said.