CM Kejriwal distributes masks to school children

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal distributed N95 masks to school children at an event in the national Capital on Friday as pollution levels continue to rise. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Director of Education Vinay Bhushan were also present at the event. Delhi government decided to distribute masks on a large scale in view of the rising pollution in Delhi. The Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi claims to have distributed about 50 lakh masks among the schoolgoing children on Friday.

"Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states. It is very important that we protect ourselves from this toxic air. Through private & government schools, we have started distributing 50 lakh masks today," Kejriwal tweeted after distributing masks among the students.

"We are all here today for a very important occasion. Most of the children have not burned crackers this year, and I believe this is a big achievement for us. 75-80 per cent of children in Delhi did not burn crackers this year. I think every resident now is able to understand the harm that cracker burning does to the air."

Kejriwal said, "We have significantly reduced pollution in Delhi in the last five years. Just 20 days back, we could see a clear sky and we could also see a star. The sky was clear from March till October 10 and the pollution was at its lowest. The agencies said that the pollution went down by 25 per cent. The Delhi government and the people of Delhi collectively have taken many steps to decrease pollution in the national

Capital", the Chief Minister futher added.

"A lot of reforms have been made in the government schools. Only our health can decide our future. We are trying our best to pressurise the Haryana and Punjab governments to stop the practice of stubble burning in their states. We are distributing masks to you starting today, every student will get one packet each along with a pamphlet carrying instructions on how to use the mask. We could only procure 50 lakh masks this time because we decided to distribute masks in October. Since each packet has two masks, children should give the packets to their parents and let them decide on who needs the mask the most," added the CM.