TLDR:
• Green lockdown targets smog hotspots
• Cross-border climate diplomacy urged
• Minority Card aid programme unveiled
LAHORE (The Thursday Times) — The Punjab government has declared a “green lockdown” across smog-heavy hotspots in Lahore, intensifying efforts to combat the city’s dire air quality. Restrictions on barbecues, commercial generators, and construction work are part of sweeping measures to curb emissions. However, experts have criticised the new initiatives, calling them inadequate and poorly coordinated.
Pollution has reached critical levels in Lahore, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) hitting an alarming 588 early Wednesday morning, marking the city among the most polluted globally. Despite later improvements, the AQI remained dangerously high, emphasising the urgent need for effective solutions. In response, Punjab’s government has pinpointed 11 critical smog zones, including major urban arteries like Davis Road and Queen Mary Road, where the green lockdown measures will be strictly enforced.
Restrictions and green master planning
The lockdown comes with significant bans and operational limits: construction activities are halted within a one-kilometre radius of Shimla Hill, Qingqi motorcycle-rickshaws face restrictions, and marriage halls must close by 10pm. Barbecues using charcoal and wood without emission controls are now forbidden after 8pm. The Lahore Waste Management Company will prioritise wet sweeping to minimise dust, and encroachments will be cleared to smooth traffic flow. Heavy-duty vehicles will have limited access, and half of government office employees are to work remotely.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, senior minister of Punjab, has outlined plans for a “green ring” around the city. This ambitious initiative aims to create a “wall of trees,” using modern technology to reduce carbon emissions and enhance oxygen levels. All trees will be geo-tagged, with intensified afforestation projects in industrial regions. A collaborative effort involving educational institutions, students, and industries is planned under a new “Green Force” scheme for the three-month smog season.
Addressing emissions and introducing electric transport
Further interventions include heavy penalties and strict enforcement. Vehicles found emitting excessive smoke are subject to fines and impoundment. The city has also announced plans to roll out electric buses and e-bikes, a move expected to reduce urban transport emissions. The Punjab Safe Cities Authority is actively monitoring and penalising vehicles with daily e-challans, while waste burning remains strictly prohibited.
Cross-border climate diplomacy with Indian Punjab
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has urged a cooperative response with Indian Punjab to address shared environmental challenges. Speaking at a Diwali event in Lahore, she expressed the need for “climate diplomacy,” emphasising that air pollution and smog are humanitarian, not political, crises. Pointing to the impact of cross-border stubble burning and shared atmospheric patterns, she stressed collaboration as vital, noting, “winds do not recognise borders.” She indicated a willingness to formally engage Indian Punjab’s Chief Minister, Bhagwant Mann, to find joint solutions.
The call for cross-border cooperation comes as Lahore faces growing pollution from Indian cities, with wind currents from regions like Amritsar and Chandigarh worsening local conditions.
