Daily Times

The Punjab government on Tuesday imposed environmental emergency in Lahore due to the smog situation, and declared the city calamity-hit.

The air quality levels of Lahore have been deteriorating to hazardous levels. At 5:30pm on Tuesday, the air quality of the city on the AQI (air quality index) was noted to be 184. According to iqair.com, a website that monitors air quality across the globe, the city ranks as the fifth most polluted city in the world.

At a news conference, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said that an emergency had been imposed in the city and instructed authorities to chalk out a plan to combat the worsening situation. “A ban has also been imposed on the burning of crop residues across the province,” Pervaiz Elahi said, warning that strict action will be taken against those violating the orders.

Moreover, the chief minister said modern harvesters would be provided to farmers in a bid to prevent them from stubble burning, while brick kilns will be transferred to zigzag technology. He went on to say that anti-smog squads will be checking vehicles in the city emitting smoke and actions will be taken against them. “This campaign will last for three months,” the chief minister added. Separately, the Lahore High Court (LHC) directed the provincial government to keep schools in Lahore closed for three days a week due to the worsening smog situation.

The order was passed by Justice Shahid Karim as the court took up public interest petitions on several issues relating to the environment. Previously, the judge had observed that the provincial government seemed non-serious on the matter and sought suggestions to control the rising smog. During the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Karim observed that the petitions mentioned that authorities had failed to take apt measures to curb smog and instructed the government to issue a notification ordering the closure of schools for three days. For his part, the government’s lawyer assured the LHC that a draft of the notification had been prepared. Subsequently, the judge asked the government to present the notification in court today (Wednesday) and summoned the deputy commissioner of Lahore.