Daily Times

A slight fall in Mercury and people in Lahore start rolling up their sleeves for the dreaded blanket to descend. Apparently, winters are about to get much, much harder this year. Once known as the city of gardens, the hapless provincial capital has again been slated second across the world for poor air quality. Imagine how its citizens make it through the sepia haze, taking in the metallic smell with each gulp of air. Comparing its fine particulate matter concentration of 188 with the WHO’s threshold of 25 ?g/m³ would give a fair idea of the breath of hell. The flu epidemic, allergies’ outbursts and a boutade of respiratory diseases are bound to follow suit.

Just as the privileged few blow dust off air purifiers, getting in line for flu shots, the masses fear poor visibility amid the toxic scourge to paralyse life yet again.

Frolicking through its complacency, 7 Club Road must be polishing guns to point at our country cousins. Like the past several years, they would be targeted for belching thick smoke as a consequence of their stubble burning. If nothing else, the wind blowing from Indian Punjab would be blamed for the acrid smog, that has progressed to become a deadly “fifth season” for the country. A fine of up to Rs 100,000 for those caught in the act may give a whiff of a state minding its p’s and q’s. But threatening jail time can ward off modest farmers, not the ultra-mighty brick mafia. Going by PDMA paperwork, only zigzag technology-led brick kilns can open shop across the province but sadly, the reality could not be more different. And what about the hordes upon hordes of vehicles spewing forth seemingly endless black carbon? Although it is technically impossible to scare all of Lahore into locking cars overnight, the city’s traffic police is an adamant advocate of fining its way through. The dystopian wasteland remains the filthy icing on the cake where the burning of solid waste continues in all its glory.

Knee-jerk reactions may work well for Punjab CM’s optics, (something, he is in desperate need of). Spelling out emergency suspension of brick kilns and ban on farmland and waste burning amid other emission-control measures might make for heartening headlines but these are not real solutions. The need of the hour is to realise that as was the case with Holy Roman Empire, the curious case of Lahore Smog is neither restricted to Lahore nor is it just smog. Decades of letting a monstrosity build its inroads have finally started to take its toll on our lives. The only beacon of hope that can shine through this brutal climate abuse can come in the shape of pragmatic, long-term policies. Nothing else can fill the bill! *