After WASA informed the Lahore High Court (LHC) that smoke from Bar be Que restaurants was causing air pollution in Lahore, the court on Thursday ordered the Punjab government to consider closing schools in the city starting December 20, stating that if the court did not intervene, the court would be forced to intervene.
The court also ordered the imposition of a fee on brick kiln owners during the hearing of a smog-related case.
The court also ordered that brick kilns whose owners had not yet paid the fee levied by the Environment Judicial Commission be shut down.
The LHC asked the appropriate authorities to take further measures to adequately manage traffic in Lahore in order to effectively address the pollution problem.
The petitioner, Azhar Siddique, informed the court that there were no parking options in the city’s high-rises.
Justice Shahid Kareem stated that the policy of not having parking accommodations in these buildings should be reconsidered.
He went on to say that approving the construction of these structures is the lack of a flawless policy was a “mistake.”
Justice Kareem enquired as to why Pakistani bazaars did not start and close as early as those in Western nations.
He believed that market times should be shortened.
On the following date of the hearing, the court directed the PEMRA to present the notification it had prepared on the awareness campaign.
The case has been postponed till tomorrow, according to the court (December 17).
