No vehicle to enter Lahore sans fitness certificate

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday banned entry of passenger vehicles having no “digital fitness certificate” into Lahore as part of efforts to fight the menace of air pollution plaguing the provincial capital.

The Punjab relief commissioner today issued a notification calling for action against vehicles plying on the Lahore roads without a fitness certificate.

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He instructed that passenger vehicles with digital fitness certificate be allowed to enter the city.

Lahore continues to rank among cities having the worst air pollution. On Thursday, Indian capital city New Delhi remained on top of the list of the most polluted cities in the world having worst air quality while Lahore ranked second.

According to the Air Quality Index, India’s New Delhi ranked first in the list with 335 index points, while Lahore remained second with 264 points. Bangladesh capital Dhaka remained in the AQI list of poor air quality.

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The smoke produced by burning crop remnants, factories and burning coal, garbage, oil or tyres enters the atmosphere and the effects of this appear at the onset of winter and remain till the season’s end, experts said.

Thus air pollution reaches to extremely dangerous levels, severely compromising the air quality.