While there are many rights of which Pakistanis are deprived, the right to breathe has now become one of the most alarming of them. The city of Lahore has consistently been described as one of the most polluted cities in the world over the past five years, and this year is ranked at the very top of the list – beating pollution centres like New Delhi and Beijing, where pollution levels are notoriously high. In other words, with every breath that is taken, people are putting their lives at risk with air quality on Saturday being placed as hazardous in the city. While the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency is assigned to measure air quality, many of its monitors apparently do not work and the true figures, experts say, are not always given. A few days ago, air quality in Lahore rose to over 400 on the AQI. Air quality of between zero and 50 is considered normal, and the condition in which human beings should live. We obviously live in a situation which is very far removed from this ideal.
After the Lahore High Court took notice of the prevailing situation and ordered immediate measures, including fines on brick kilns not built on the less polluting zigzag pattern, factories emitting poisonous fumes, the burning of garbage or other materials and other activities, the Punjab government has finally noticed that it is impossible to see more than a few feet in Lahore at certain times of the day, with the colder winter air trapping air particulate matter as it rises. This matter consists of smoke, emissions from brick kilns and factories, particles from the burning of crops and other pollutants including vehicular smoke. The government has directed private companies to put in place a work policy with only 50 percent of persons present in office at a particular time and has also asked the traffic police to work out traffic routes that will help reduce pollution.
It is far from certain if these measures will in any way be effective, especially given that the pollution problem has risen over a considerable period of time and cannot simply be swept away by a few measures, which are essentially cosmetic in nature. To clean Lahore's air we need far more determined and concrete measures. These have to be put in place over a longer term, and must include the reduction of vehicles on the roads by offering high quality public transport, omitting vehicles which produce hazardous fumes, controlling factory emissions, finding ways to counter the burning of crops and other measures so that children and the elderly currently ending up in hospitals with serious respiratory conditions can once again live in the city, which was once known for its pristine winter and clean air. Meanwhile, the Punjab government is most humbly requested to take this seriously, instead of the rather bizarre attempts at denial and threats regarding what can only be called the toxicity that Lahoris are breathing in. Are we really willing to allow our children to breathe in poison?