PESHAWAR: After Lahore’s air pollution made headlines, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to set up stations in major cities to check air quality.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that the air quality monitoring stations will work under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in major cities severely affected by toxic smog. The KP environment protection organizations welcomed the government’s plan and hoped that it will be helpful in keeping check on KP’s environment.
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The officials said that after the establishment of the station air quality index will be made available to all government departments and people to adopt mitigation measures. The authority declared that “smog is one of the most serious health hazards, and can be fatal to human health, especially to children”. The PDMA said that a winter emergency plan has also been completed for Peshawar.
On 16 December, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Transport Department slapped ban on dilapidated school buses. The notification issued by the transport department ordered the private schools to replace vehicles registered with the excise department before December 2000 within a month; otherwise, the administration will have to take disciplinary action. The transport department said that most of the transport vehicles used by educational institutions, especially private schools, have become obsolete and worn out which is causing pollution.
However, Private schools have warned to stop providing transport facility to students from 15 January after the ban. The private schools said that the government has the constitutional responsibility to provide transport facilities including new buses to schools.
The KP transport department has constituted a special force of 400 men to deal with the growing air pollution in Peshawar. The force will be headed by inspector and Sub-inspector. The provincial director transport Fahd Ikram has told the media that the services of Pakistan motorway police have been acquired for the training of the force.