Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday urged residents of provincial capital Lahore to declare “war on smog,” asserting that the prevailing air pollution will required 8-10 years of effort to overcome.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, she unveiled the provincial government’s Anti-Smog Action Plan, sharing data of “hot spots” in the city that had become urban heat islands. Divulging details of the city’s emissions, she said of 45,000 registered motorcycles in Lahore, 1,800 emitted visible smoke, adding the city had nearly 100,000 vehicles, as well as 1,200 brick kilns, 60,800 industrial units and numerous cooking stoves that all contributed to the declining air quality.
“Lahore has only 33.3 percent green area coverage and is home to 15 million people,” she said, lamenting that records showed the city had “unhealthy” levels of air quality for 275 days of the year that proved particularly dangerous to public health. She also clarified the misconception of smog in Lahore being a byproduct of emissions from neighboring India, saying that while 30 percent of smog did originate from India, the remaining 70 percent was local.
Regarding the Anti-Smog Action Plan, Aurangzeb said Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had personally been leading a mitigation plan for the past six months to reduce smog in the coming winter season. In the past six months, she claimed, all brick kilns in the city were inspected and facilities without the zigzag technology demolished. “Of 700 kilns in the province, 212 in Lahore have been dismantled,” she said, vowing “zero tolerance” for any violators.
Similarly, the senior minister said the Environment Protection Department conducted 15,000 inspections of industrial units, sealing 721 factories, demolishing 152 and implementing an emissions control and digital monitoring system. She said the government was trying to reduce stubble burning by offering farmers 60 percent subsidy on super seeders, adding violators were being prosecuted under law.
Aurangzeb urged media to run awareness campaigns to encourage anti-smog measures, stressing that data showed smog could reduce life expectancy by up to 10 years. She said the government had launched Anti-Smog Squads, which were operating in “hot spots” to raise awareness and take immediate action, particularly against smoke-emitting vehicles. Materials that spread dust were being prevented from entering the city, she added.
The senior minister concluded her press conference by urging residents to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) on the government’s Green App before visiting smog hotspots such as Badami Bagh, Shimla Hill, Lower Mall and Shahdara.
Separately, Aurangzeb issued a statement warning against the use of plastic bags, stressing they can lead to death. She said the Environment Protection Department has taken action against eight restaurants utilizing plastic bags and sealed 10 shops using them. Additionally, she said, 15kg of harmful plastic bags were seized and two people arrested.
The statement stressed non-standard polythene bags can cause cancer and other deadly diseases and urged citizens to not buy food in plastic bags from vendors.