Three-year-old girl files plea in LHC over air pollution

LAHORE: As Punjab continues to suffer from dense smog, a three-year-old girl approached the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday over government’s failure to contain the worsening air pollution in the city. The child, Amal Sukhera, filed the petition in the high court through Barrister Ali Zafar.

LHC’s Justice Jawad Hasan then issued a notice to the environment secretary of Punjab and others, seeking their response on the ongoing matter of smog. According to the plea, the petitioner approached the high court to safeguard the welfare of her friends, classmates and the future generation. The petition also said that young children as well as elderly people are being “badly affected” by the air pollution. The development comes as the province in severely impacted by rising smog levels, with air quality hovering in the hazardous zone for weeks.

Early Thursday morning, Lahore sat atop the Air Quality Index (AQI) ranking with level exceeding 800 and has consistently reigned the list even until after 9am with 784, as per data from Swiss air quality monitor IQAir. Lahore’s atmosphere has remained dangerous for its residents for weeks following its position as being one of the cities with the world’s highest AQI, with levels consistently exceeding 1,000 due to winds carrying pollution from neighbouring India, Punjab’s Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb noted on Wednesday. This prolonged exposure has increased hospital admissions for respiratory issues, with Lahore, Multan, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Gujranwala severely affected. The persistent dangerous atmosphere has made it difficult for citizens to breathe, leaving them vulnerable to respiratory diseases, as they struggle to continue with their daily activities.

Doctors have advised the residents of Lahore to wear masks when stepping outside their homes. On the other hand, private and government educational institutions, teaching up to the higher secondary level, in the city as well as other Punjab districts have also been closed by the government till November 17. Punjab has also introduced a mandatory mask policy for public spaces.

Public and private offices have been directed to adopt a 50pc work-from-home policy, and all government meetings are to be held online until further notice.