The Punjab government on Thursday suspended a youth festival in Lahore due to the environmental crisis caused by smoga fog made denser and darker by smoke and chemical fumesthat continues to affect life in the provincial capital and many other parts of Punjab.
Meanwhile, the provincial high court issued notices on a petition filed by a three-year old child highlighting the failure of authorities to curb the menace of environmental pollution in Punjab,
The Lahore Youth Festival 2024 was a three-day event including activities ranging from sports and music to technology and art. However, on Thursday, it was notified on the festival's webpage that the event had been postponed due to "severe smog and unfavorable weather conditions".
In a statement Punjab Senior Marriyum Aurangzeb on Thursday said Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz decided to postpone the event in view of smog.
According to the minister, the Punjab government has also launched a campaign to provide masks to citizens in Lahore to protect people from harmful effects of air pollution.
She said authorities are making announcements from hundreds of mosques regarding precautions to take during smog and are advising people not to leave their homes unnecessarily.
"Training for 9,000 farmers has been completed, and lectures on smog awareness are ongoing in schools. Action has been taken against those setting fires at more than 9 locations, with 15 FIRs registered and fines exceeding Rs400,000 imposed.
"Strict enforcement of extensive surveillance and patrolling measures is in place in Lahore and its surrounding areas," the minister said. "The Punjab government has distributed thousands of written materials to the public regarding the dangers of smog and precautionary measures."
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued notices to the secretary environment and others while hearing a petition filed by a three-year old girl Amal Sukhera through her counsel Barrister Ali Zafar.
The petitioner contended that minor children and the elderly are being severely affected by air pollution as there has been a dangerous rise in the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Punjab.
The environment department and the Punjab government have completely failed to control air pollution. Under Article 99-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment, petition asserted.
"The Punjab government is unable to protect the fundamental rights granted in the Constitution. The court is requested to direct it to protect the fundamental rights under Article 99-A of the Constitution," the petition said.
In a written order issued on Thursday, the LHC imposed a ban on the operation of commercial generators emitting smoke in Green Lockdown areas.
The court ordered that pollution-control devices must be installed in commercial generators within the next seven days.
The provincial capital of Punjab has once again been declared the world's most polluted city, as dense clouds of toxic smog have engulfed the entire Lahore, pushing air quality levels to hazardous extremes.
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