The first day of a smart lockdown to contain smog was observed across the district on Friday. Action was also taken against industrial units, brick kilns, vehicle owners and farmers who caused air pollution and smog. Since April 1, Rs. 11.9 million fines and 61 cases have been registered.
These details were given by Deputy Commissioner Captain (Rtd) Shah Mir Iqbal about the implementa-tion of smart lockdown orders to control smog and the steps taken by the district administration.
The DC said that on the first day of the lockdown on the orders of the Punjab government, educational institutions remained completely closed in all the four tehsils, while shops, shopping centers, hotels, restaurants were allowed to open after 3:00 o’clock.
He appreciated how the business community in Sialkot had fully cooperated with the district ad-ministration. However. Assistant Commissioner Sialkot Ghulam Sarwar and his team sealed 17 shops during checking in different areas for violat-ing the lockdown.
The deputy commissioner said that the teams under the leadership of AC Anwar Ali in tehsil Daska, Ahsan Mumtaz in tehsil Sambrial and AC Qamar Mehmood in tehsil Pasrur remained in the field to ensure the implementation of the orders.
He said that 49 brick kiln owners have been fined Rs. 91,00,000 for causing pollution and smog while 16 cases have been registered. So far seven cases have been registered for burning crop residues while a fine of Rs. 5,47,000 has been imposed. A fine of Rs.12,57,000 was imposed on the owners of smoke-emitting vehicles, while 5 cases were registered against the owners of 33 industrial units for causing smog.
