Due to the severe smog in the provincial capital, the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday ordered the authorities to extend the winter break for schools and institutions by an additional seven days.
The director-general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) was called before the court for the upcoming hearing of various petitions regarding actions taken to reduce smog in Lahore.
During the hearing, the court stated that smog is somewhat under control and that the government is in charge of reducing smog levels.
The judge then postponed the hearing until Friday (December 30).
On Fridays and Saturdays, there are no classes.
Due to dangerous levels of smog in the province, the LHC had directed the Punjab government to notify parents of a weekly three-day school closure winter break on December 7.
The Punjab School Education Department responded to the order by issuing a formal announcement that all public and private schools in the Lahore area will now have additional weekly off days, including Friday and Saturdays in addition to Sundays. Private offices had also been ordered to close on these days in the meanwhile.
In addition to ordering the closure of schools, the court also ordered the early closing of markets and eateries in the city because of the persistent smog.
The LHC’s Justice Shahid Karim had directed the authorities to close markets by 10 p.m. on December 14 and to strictly enforce the closure orders for schools.
As low-grade diesel emissions, smoke from seasonal agricultural burnoff, and colder winter temperatures combine to form stagnant clouds of smog, air pollution has gotten worse in Pakistan recently.
Lahore, a bustling metropolis of over 11 million inhabitants in Punjab province close to the Indian border, frequently ranks among the most polluted cities in the world.
Residents have recently built their own air purifiers and sued the government in an effort to clear the air, but authorities have been hesitant to act, blaming India for the haze or claiming the statistics are inflated.
