The Lahore High Court (LHC) worry about smog in Lahore on Thursday and asked the Punjab govt to consider closing the schools from December 20 as a result of the smog.
Previously, Judge Shahid Karim was ruling on petitions filed by attorney Shiraz Zaka and others against the Punjab government over failure to take action to reduce air pollution in the state.
Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) informed LHC that the smoke from barbeque establishments was also contributing to the increase in smog and that they should also close.
The court told the PDMA that they will revisit the matter at a later date if necessary.
The lawyer for the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) pointed out that the haze was getting worse since the markets were staying open until late at night.
In its ruling, the court noted that markets all around the world open at 6 a.m. “Why aren’t we able to open our markets earlier here?”
Meanwhile, the LHC determined that the policy of distributing space for parking plazas needs to be examined and that the policy should be revised immediately.
The court also ordered the suspension of the awareness campaign conducted by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and the closure of the kiln factories that had failed to pay the fee on time.
The LHC also ordered the chief traffic police officer to enhance the traffic flow within the walled city, as mandated by the court.
The court postponed the hearing was later until December 17.
Pakistan’s air pollution has deteriorated in recent years, as a combination of low-grade diesel emissions, smoke from seasonal agricultural burn-off, and colder winter temperatures combine to form stagnant clouds of smog that are difficult to breathe.
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