In an attempt to reduce smog, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday mandated that all schools provide transportation for pupils and requested a vehicle fitness policy within 15 days.
Over the past few weeks, dense smog—caused by harmful pollutants—has blanketed numerous Punjabi cities, with Lahore and Multan suffering the worst. Multan’s AQI score has already surpassed 2,000 twice, establishing a new air pollution record.
The severity of the haze prompted the Punjab government to declare an emergency last Friday in Lahore and Multan, imposing a “complete lockdown” on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Today’s proceedings were presided over by Justice Shahid Karim, who heard a plea submitted by locals Haroon Farooq and others.
He issued an order directing schools to provide transportation for the pickup and drop-off of all pupils when the winter break ended, threatening to terminate any institutions that did not comply.
The main cause of air pollution and the associated negative health effects is thought to be excessive toxic smoke released by automobiles.
According to Justice Karim, “no school should write to parents stating that they will not take responsibility for the children.”
Additionally, he gave the transport department 15 days to create and submit a vehicle fitness policy.
The judge noted that “the transport department should also inspect a vehicle’s fitness every three months and issue a fitness certificate to vehicles.”
According to Justice Karim, “the transport department must have data on all public and private buses.”
Amal Sukhera, age three, who had petitioned for the implementation of the fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment, was given the task of launching the mobile units that check the suitability of cars.
After that, the proceedings were postponed until Tuesday, November 26.
Behind being closed for a week due to smog, schools in the Lahore and Multan divisions resumed on Wednesday, one day behind those in the rest of the province.
About two million people with respiratory disorders and other respiratory issues visited hospitals throughout Punjab in the previous month, according to data released on November 15.
According to data from the Punjab healthcare department, 68,917 of these instances were recorded throughout the province in less than a day.
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