Extreme smog: Pakistan's Punjab bans citizens entry at public places

AFTER closing all public and private schools and colleges in Pakistan's Punjab province till November 17, the government on Friday also placed a ban on the people from entering public parks, zoos, playgrounds and museums amid deteriorating air quality due to persistent heavy smog.

As a thick blanket of smog hovered over Lahore, the city of 14 million people that saw the Air Quality Index (AQI) cross an alarming 1,000 notches on Thursday, the government took steps to prevent citizens' exposure to the polluted air deemed hazardous for public health and safety.

Punjab province government's notification on Friday said the ban is imposed till November 17 in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Chiniot, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Lodhran, Vehari and Khanewal.

The government had already declared closure of schools and other educational institutions for the next 10 days and asked government employees to work from home in 18 districts, including the capital Lahore.

The Punjab government had last week declared smog a calamity, and took a host of measures, including a green lockdown in several areas of Lahore.

The provincial government had last month announced that it might consider artificial rains to combat the pollution but there was no date announced. (PTI)