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News

Thick smog poisons environment in many Punjab cities

Too much smog in Lahore but minister can’t see: LHC judge

November 19, 2021 12:12 PM


Thick smog continued to poison the environment in many Punjab cities with Lahore again standing at the top of the list, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

There was no respite for the people of Lahore where air quality index has reached to 410 mark.

Gujranwala, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur were also among the most affected cities.

Karachi was at number three as the air quality index has reached 170 mark.

Smog, after prevailing in Lahore, Faisalabad and Sahiwal, now made the lives of residents of the industrial city of Gujranwala also miserable as the administration there failed to combat the smog-contributing factors.

The city has 413 points on the AQI Index.

Despite a crackdown, the administration and Environment Protection Department (EPD) have failed to counter the smog.  

Smog case in LHC

Lahore High Court’s Justice Shahid Kareem remarked that the city got too much smog but the Punjab Environment Minister simply is in denial mode claiming there was no smog here, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The LHC on Friday ordered the CTO to make a road management plan for metropolis Lahore.

Justice Shahid Kareem said that the court would issue an order of Rs2,000 challan for one-way traffic violation.

He made these remarks while hearing the case on smog filed by petitioner Haroon Farooq in which Lahore CTO Muntazir Mehdi presented a traffic management plan.

The CTO said that traffic police helpline is available round the clock along with police can be reached via social media, 15 and WhatsApp.

Deputy Attorney General Asad Ali Bajwa, Additional Advocate General (Punjab) and Judicial Water Commission Focal Person also presented before the court.

Judicial Water Commission Focal Person briefed the court that traffic flow became better after removing the road-cuts.

Justice Shahid remarked that signal-free {corrdidor} brought devastation at the Jail Lahore and something should be done at the road to improve the traffic flow.

“Whosoever pitched this signal-free Jail Road Idea but it brought problems as citizens could not cross the Jail Road,” the judge remarked.  

Justice Shahid directed CTO to inform Punjab government consul to repair the road patches, on which, CTO briefed the court that he wrote 93 letters to remove the encroachments but all no action was taken.

Lahore CTO Mehdi said strict traffic laws will be made in future.

The top traffic cop of Lahore also proposed to ban 2-stroke vehicles that produce pollution as smog is a bigger issue than dengue and COVID-19.  

The Weather Department predicted dry weather in plain areas of Punjab and smog and fog to persist in plain areas.  

In Lahore, the administration made five anti-smog squads to fine, seal and penalize the smoke-emitting industrial units, factories, cars so the provincial capital would come out from the horrors of the smog that made it to the international headlines of becoming the most polluted city in the world.  

https://twitter.com/CaptainUsman/status/1460685134877925376

Earlier, Punjab Minister for Environment Protection Department (EPD) Muhammad Rizwan asked the FIA to take action against those spreading fake data of air quality index on the social media.

 

Reporters Malik Ashraf, Zahid Iqbal Rana



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