look news india
Pollution is not wreaking havoc only in Delhi-NCR and North India. Neighboring country Pakistan has been devastated. Complete lockdown has been imposed in two cities of Punjab province, Lahore and Multan. The situation due to pollution is so bad that AQI in Multan city has crossed 2000, while AQI in Lahore remains above 1100. Pakistani media reports said the Punjab government has imposed a complete lockdown in Lahore and Multan as the air quality index (AQI) reached dangerous levels. ARY News reports that Lahore has been declared the second most polluted city in the world.
Punjab’s senior provincial minister Maryam Aurangzeb at a press conference stressed the serious health risks posed by smog and pollution, saying it has created a public health crisis and people are suffering from respiratory diseases. He compared it to the dangers experienced during COVID-19. In view of the increasing levels of pollution, the Punjab government has announced to keep schools up to higher secondary level closed till 24th November.
In the neighboring Punjab province, more than 600,000 people have been affected by pollution-related diseases in just one week. More than 65,000 people have been hospitalized in the past week. Keeping this in mind, the provincial government has canceled the leaves of paramedical staff and extended the OPD timings till 8 pm.
Apart from this, health emergency has also been imposed in Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. During the lockdown in Punjab, apart from closing schools and colleges, all types of transport services have also been stopped, while hotels and restaurants have been directed to close after 8 pm. All private offices have been ordered to run with 50 percent workforce.