Cooling zone set up near Jama Masjid to provide relief from heat

Under the Delhi governments heatwave action plan, a cooling zone has been set up near the Jama Masjid Metro station in Old Delhi to provide relief to people, officials said on Saturday. In the statement, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that officials have been instructed to identify the other high-footfall areas across the capital where similar facilities can be established.

Under the Delhi government's heatwave action plan, a cooling zone has been set up near the Jama Masjid Metro station in Old Delhi to provide relief to people, officials said on Saturday. About 70-80 people can be seated in the cooling zone, which offers cold water, ORS and other facilities to people, a statement issued by the chief minister's office (CMO) said. In the statement, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that officials have been instructed to identify the other high-footfall areas across the capital where similar facilities can be established. The government's objective is not merely to put arrangements in place, but to deliver tangible relief directly to the people, she said. Markets, religious sites and tourist hubs witness heavy footfall during the summer months, making densely-populated areas like Old Delhi particularly vulnerable during extreme heat conditions, the statement said. Keeping this in mind, the cooling zone has been set up as a permanent relief facility, separate from the mobile heat relief vehicles already operating in the city, it said.