QUETTA, April 20: Health experts on Thursday called upon the government to take urgent measures to ensure that public and private vehicles made greater use of environmentally friendly CNG.

Speaking on the second day of an international chest conference, the experts said Quetta was one of the world’s most polluted cities and the number of patients suffering from asthma, tuberculosis and bronchitis and other respiratory diseases was growing.

They urged that government to take immediate steps to convert all public and private transport vehicles to CNG and make the provincial capital a neat and clean city as it was until the late ‘60s.

They also called for a ban on smoking in government offices and public places and removal of all signboards of tobacco firms in and around the city. The guest speakers’ read out research papers in different sessions. Prof Mira and Prof Parkash C. Gupta from India spoke about chest and related diseases at a well attended session that was presided over by Dr Syed Mohammad Naeem Agha, president of the Pakistan Chest Society.

Dr Nasir Khan presented a research paper on NIV and Dr Shawani on Congo virus. Dr Javed Khan from Saudi Arabia, Dr Samad from Peshawar and Dr Arshad shared their experiences on asthma and bronchitis.

The conference will continue till April 22.—Correspondent