The intensity of SMOG will be lesser this year while Punjab government has already declared it calamity and Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) initiated compressive strategy to control it. Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Baber Hayat Tarar stated while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
He said that strict action is being initiated against factors causing Smog while district governments and five departments have been engaged to control the Smog and support the PDMA on it.
Further, PDA has been increasing capacity of the allied departments to control the SMOG. He was accompanied by secretary environment Zahid Hussain and DG PDMA Khurram Umar Shahzad. The SMBR said that it was wrong impression that only burning of rice crop residuals was the major reason of the SMOG. Rather, the fact is that agriculture crops burning contributed only 8 percent to the SMOG while 12 percent was contributed from the crops burning of India.
He said traffic smoke was the major cause of the SMOG in the Punjab and this is due to use of substandard fuels in vehicles. He said that traffic smoke was contributing 43 percent to SOMG, and 25 percent from the industries and 20 percent from the liter burning.
In the lights of this data, the Punjab government launched crackdown against the smoke emitting vehicles besides reducing the vehicles plying on the roads.
He said planning was underway to reduce the number of pick and drops vehicles in the public sector educational institutions. Further, brickklin of the old technology will be close from November 7 to December 31 and the duration could be increased if needed.
He said efforts were underway for shifting the brickkiln to zigzag technology by December 31. He said FIR would be launched against the violation orders issued for the SMOG control. He hinted that SMOG could be more lethal in the covid-19 pandemic so there was need of extra precautions.
He said locust control committees would also be taken on board to control the SMOG to stop crop burning. Construction industry instructed to control the dust control emerged from the construction sites.
Earlier, SMVE chaired the working group meeting on SMOG control in which DG PDMA briefed the participants about the action initiated to control the smog in the province.
