LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Friday observed that the measures being taken by the government are not sufficient to control the menace of smog and directed the commissioner Lahore to convene a meeting with the stakeholders for closing commercial activities after 8.00 pm for a fortnight at least within the provincial metropolis and its periphery.

The court also directed the commissioner to take a decision to shut down all commercial activities on Sunday for the next two weeks, which can be extended depending on the situation at the relevant time.

The court also instructed the advocate general Punjab to convene a meeting too with all stakeholders and relevant government officials and observed that the court was taking these measures to assist the government but it was not cooperating on the matter. The court hearing the petitions related to the environmental issues, observed that the matter regarding smog is drastic and has assumed dangerous proportions.

The court observed that after 11.00 pm at night, heavy traffic is allowed to enter Lahore which is the major cause of emission of polluting smoke and this is not being controlled and has gone unchecked, the court added.

The court, therefore, directed the government that the police and its dolphin force as well as traffic police shall be deployed and any vehicle found emitting smog should be impounded.

The court directed the transport department to authorize its officers to visit the bus stands from which the lorries and buses to check the maintenance and fitness of these buses and lorries.

The court maintained that any of the lorries or buses found unfit will not be allowed to ply on the roads.

The court directed the government to engage the ring road authority also for similar actions.

The court observed that an out of box solution would also include limiting the marriage functions as well as capping the number of persons attending these functions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024