As the Lahore High Court (LHC) was told by WASA that the smoke emitting from Bar be Que restaurants was causing air pollution in Lahore, the court on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to consider the closure of schools in the city from December 20, adding otherwise the court would be forced to intervene, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

During the hearing of a smog-related case, the court also ordered the imposition of fine on brick kiln owners. 

The court also ordered the shutdown of those brick kilns whose owners had not paid the fine imposed by the Environment Judicial Commission as yet.  

The LHC directed the concerned departments to make further arrangements to properly regulate the traffic in Lahore so that the issue of smog could be dealt with efficiently.

Azhar Siddique, the petitioner, told the court there were no parking arrangements in high-rises built in the city. 

Justice Shahid Kareem remarked there was a need to review the policy of not making parking arrangements in these buildings. 

He further said sanctioning the construction of these buildings in the absence of foolproof policy was a ‘blunder’.

Justice Kareem asked why bazaars in Pakistan did not open and close early as was the practice in western countries. 

He was of the view that markets’ timings should be cut short. 

The judge ordered the PEMRA to submit the notification it had prepared regarding the awareness campaign on the next date of the hearing.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case until tomorrow (December 17).

 

Reporter Malik Ashraf