LAHORE: Scores of climate activists and representatives of different social action movements on Friday demanded pollution-free public transport and action against industrial emissions in a demo outside the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) office near Gaddafi Stadium.

The activists, who gathered on the call of the Haqooq-e-Khalq movement, including students, teachers, doctors and workers, raised slogans for climate justice, public transport, and closure of the industries causing environmental pollution and smog in the city.

They also handed over a memorandum to the EPA director, who promised immediate action against burning of garbage in Harbanspura and provision of clean water to the area.

The director said the agency would take action wherever a complaint was received about burning of garbage.

The activists demanded compensation amounting to Rs30,000 for the workers affected by the closure of pollution-causing industries, training of workers for cleaning the city and ensuring their health safety.

They also called for an immediate ban on the dirty diesel’s import and its immediate replacement with Euro-5 standard oil, provision of safe drinking water as per Punjab Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), immediate scrapping of the Medical and Teaching Institutions (MTI) Act, provision of basic healthcare to the citizens, besides steps to curb increase in automobiles on the roads by providing proper public transport facilities.

The demonstrators also sought inclusion of education on climate change in syllabus through reforms in curriculum, putting a halt to land grabbing through Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA), giving ownership of resources to indigenous people across the country, and steps for phasing out fossil fuels and utilisation of renewable sources to meet energy demands.

Addressing the participants, Ammar Ali Jan, Farooq Tariq, Dr Alia Haider, Prof Zaigum Abbas, Rai Ali Aftab, Muzamal Kakar, Baba Latif, Mohammed Afzal, Ashiq Ali, Qaiser Javed, Irfan Mufti and Murtaza Bajwa said air pollution was affecting the health and lives of everyone, especially children, elderly and workers.

They announced continuing the campaign for climate justice and holding accountability of those responsible for pollution.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2021