PESHAWAR: Various civil society organisations have hailed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to enforce a ban on smoke-emitting old school buses.

In a joint statement issued here, the CSOs, including Peshawar Clean Air Alliance, Sarhad Conservation Network and Public Health Organisation, said the provincial transport department had given private schools a one-week ultimatum to comply with its earlier orders to present their buses for mandatory inspection and get them certified as roadworthy, warning non-compliance will lead to the confiscation of vehicles.

They said the directive was in line with a decision made in a meeting on July 1 for students’ safety.

The statement said the so-called elite schools had long compromised the health of their young children, which is unethical and unlawful and needs to be challenged in courts.

“The CSOs fully endorse the KP government’s policy to remove the smoke-emitting vehicles from the provincial metropolis. The policy aligns with mitigation of climate change and control of hazardous emissions with adverse health impacts on the population, especially the children and elderly, as their immune systems are more vulnerable to its toxic effects.”

The statement said the government had taken a timely decision to ban all smoke-emitting vehicles in the province to prevent high disease burden and costs and improve wellbeing of the citizens.

The statement said it was ironic that the so-called elite schools in Peshawar were responsible for a high proportion of vehicular emissions contributing to toxic air pollution, besides directly affecting the cognitive and physical health of young children.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2024