LAHORE: Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has directed the environment protection and other departments concerned to take necessary steps to control smog in the coming months in the urban areas of the province.

He said the agriculture department should strictly implement the ban on burning crops’ residue. Similarly, the ban on burning tyres should also be implemented, he added.

Stating that the smoke emissions from brick kilns also polluted the environment, he added that suitable measures needed to be taken.

Mr Buzdar said the environment department should initiate legal action against the industries responsible for spreading pollution while the health department should adopt measures to deal with the sickness caused by smog.

Meanwhile, the city administration has directed departments concerned to take preventive measures to counter smog that’s likely to appear in the coming months.

“If the industrialists and brick kiln owners and associations fail to make certain arrangements under the standard operating procedures (SOPs) on smog, the district administration will take strict action,” Lahore Deputy Commissioner retired Captain Anwarul Haq said while presiding over a meeting.

The meeting was attended by all the assistant commissioners, officers of the Lahore Waste Management Company, environment, Rescue 1122, agriculture, industries and representatives of the brick kilns association.

“The Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and environment department must ensure that no one should set garbage on fire in any housing society of Lahore,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2018