LAHORE: The district administration on Monday demolished 13 pyrolysis plants in different areas of the city for causing pollution.

The plants were extracting furnace and crude oil from wires and used tyres and selling them in the market at low prices.

These plants would extract over 100,000 liters of oil daily and in this process hundreds of tons of carbon powder were released in the air.

The anti-smog squad first sealed the plants. Pyrolysis plants owners, however, broke the seals and started operating their plants.

Deputy Commissioner Umar Sher Chattha directed the registration of cases against the management of plants for breaking the seals of the plants.

The city district teams later raided different areas to check the plants breaking the seals and working, The teams demolished the structure of the plants over different violations, including unsealing the plant without permission and erecting different structures without approving maps from authorities and causing pollution.

Assistant commissioner Tehnit Bukhari along with anti-encroachment teams carried out the operation and demolished plants in Shalimar, Mehmood Booti, Burki Road and other areas.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Transport Company, Punjab Provincial Transport Authority and City Traffic Police imposed a fine of Rs12 million on 26,473 smoky vehicles in anti-smog operations.

Up to 4,415 smoke-emitting vehicles were impounded while 6,732 small-scale smoke emitting vehicles were issued warnings.

The PTC issued tickets to 14,524 vehicles, imposed a fine of Rs3.4 million and impounded 2,793 vehicles.A joint team of PTC, CTP and Environment Department fined Rs2.2 million on 1,794 vehicle drivers and detained 303 vehicles for three days, while the city traffic police imposed an Rs1.1 million fine on 3,827 vehicles.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2021