LAHORE: Punjab’s Environment Protection Department (EPD) has sealed 113 factories and fined 250 vehicles for causing pollution which was contributing to the hazardous smog engulfing Lahore these days.
EPD Director Anjum Riaz said that the pollution-causing factories and vehicles were a ‘reason of air pollution’. “They are harming environment,” he said.
He claimed to have collected the ‘samples’ from steel mills as well.
EPD, during 10-days crackdown, collected Rs1.5 million in fines.
Lahore is engulfed with the toxic smog ahead of winter season for the second year in a row.
Making an excuse for not dealing with smog properly, EPD Labs Director Tauqeer Ahmed Qureshi said heavy duty machines required for measuring particulate matter and noxious gases are extremely expensive.
Deputy Director (Development) EPD said that the annual cost of just maintaining an air quality monitoring system was much more than the department’s annual budget.
