LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the government will import Euro-IV fuel to deal with the issues of smog and air pollution in the country.
Addressing a press conference, PM Imran said that pollution will reduce up to 90 per cent by using Euro-IV fuel. In a step to reduce air pollution in megacities, the government will introduce hybrid or battery-powered electric buses, he said and added that three smog centers will be set up in Punjab.
PM Imran maintained that they will shift transport to electricity in urban areas and will introduce zigzag brick kiln in the country to deal with hazardous climate.
Speaking on the occasion, he gave a three-year deadline to oil refineries to improve their quality and warned that those refineries would be sealed which will fail to meet the standard set by the government after the stipulated time. The prime minister said that burning of agricultural biomass in India was a major cause of pollution in Punjab.
Earlier on November 21, the Punjab government had announced closure of schools in Lahore, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala owing to dense smog. According to a notification, November 22 had been declared a holiday at all the public and private schools. “In the wake of dense smog, the public and private schools operating within territorial limits of the above said districts will remain closed on 22nd November 2019,” the notification had read.
