PESHAWAR
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified smoke emitting and unregistered vehicles as major cause of air pollution while divisional administration has decided the impounding of smoke emitting and unregistered vehicles.
Furthermore, it also decided the closure of brick-kiln and crush plants for a period of two months and completion of cleanliness before sunrise to bring improvement in the situation and washing of important spots and streets.
The decision was taken in a meeting held on the special directives of the Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Syed Arshad Hussain Shah with Divisional Commissioner, Peshawar, Muhammad Zubair in the chair here on Tuesday.
Besides, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Peshawar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic, representatives of EPA, local government, Water Supply & Sanitation Programme (WSSP) and administrative officers of the local bodies also attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the environment department gave detailed information to the participants about the factors that cause air pollution, according to which the main cause of air pollution is 58% of smoke-emitting and unregistered vehicles, in addition to garbage lying on the side of the roads.
Factories, brick kilns, marble factories, open fires were also declared as the main cause of air pollution, in the context of which decisions were taken to impound smoke emitting and unregistered vehicles. The hospital will be transferred to the land
Apart from this, it was decided to contact the Education Department and the Private Schools Regulatory Authority for the elimination of condemned buses used for bringing and taking school children.
In this connection, the Deputy Commissioner Peshawar was directed to issue a dispatch immediately. In the meeting, it was decided to close the brick factories and crushing plants that do not use zigzag technology, which reduces air pollution, for two months.
On this occasion, the concerned Assistant Commissioners were instructed to move the marble factories out of the city to the Marble City as soon as possible and the Industries Department was also instructed to take immediate steps to eliminate pollution.
The meeting also decided the cleaning of important roads and other spots in the morning and the authorities of WSSP and Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) to make arrangements for the purpose.
The meeting also decided to use modern technology for disposing of hospital waste, for which the Deputy Commissioner Peshawar was instructed to contact the hospital administration, besides banning open fire under Section 144 to eliminate pollution s of clerics for public awareness.
Addressing the meeting, Commissioner Peshawar Division Muhammad Zubair warned that the biggest cause of air pollution is vehicles emitting smoke, against which a mega crackdown should be started immediately, while other measures should also be started on an emergency basis.
A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Peshawar for immediate measures so that a situation like Punjab does not occur.
