PESHAWAR
Speakers at a workshop urged the drivers, transporters and masses to play their due role in reducing and controlling further spread of air pollution.
The workshop ‘Air Pollution in Peshawar’ was jointly organized by the directorate of Transport and Mass Transit department and Department of Environmental Science University of Peshawar.
Secretary Transport Amir Lateef was chief guest on the occasion while Professor Dr Muhammad Nafees, chairman Environmental Science department, Dr. Shekla Nazneen, Dr. Hizbullah and other also delivered their lectures regarding air pollution.
Amir Lateef said that transport department was going to develop various policies aimed at controlling and reducing vehicular air pollution.
He said that revolutionary steps were being taken in the Directorate of Transport and Mass Transit and for the first time in history, the National Environmental Standards (NEQS) have been changed to international standards to check the pollution emitted by vehicles and this historic change has been made in the quality standards received from the federal government in 1994 and it has included the gases that cause global warming and climate change for the first time and made the existing standards more stringent.
He said that nine vehicle testing stations in different districts of the province including Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Malakand, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohat , Bannu and DI Khan and 14 mobile laboratories were functioning.
These machines measure the emissions of vehicles and if the emissions were below the prescribed national environmental standards, the vehicles are given a pass certificate which is valid for six months.
“If the smoke level of the vehicle exceeds the prescribed national environmental standards, it is crime and the documents are confiscated,” he added.
The expert technicians of the Vehicles Emission Testing Stations (VETS) team of the Transport Department inform the vehicle owners of the defects of the vehicles and their rectification.
The inspection teams also give instructions and fix the car after it was inspected again.
The transport department secretary announced an internship for the students of the Environmental Sciences Department, under which 10 students will be given the opportunity to do an internship in the department of transport for 3 months, and during that time, 25 thousand rupees per month as stipends will be given to them.
Professor Dr Muhammad Nafis, Chairman of the Environmental Sciences Department, Dr Tariq Usman deputy director PIR, Zubair Manager VETS , Lecturer Dr Shehla Nazneen, Dr Hizbullah also spoke on the issue of air pollution.
