RAWALPINDI: Due to the severity of smog in Punjab, half of the staff in government and private offices have been instructed to work from home, while schools have also been closed in several cities.
Senior provincial minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced the closure of higher secondary educational institutions in Lahore and other affected districts at a press conference due to the increasing rate of smog. She said that educational institutions will arrange online education.
Marriyum Aurangzeb said during the press conference that smog is increasing due to the burning of crop residues, while violations continue despite the ban on plastic bags.
She said that children up to the primary level have been given holidays in schools, but parents are taking their children to shopping malls and entertainment venues. The use of masks has also been made mandatory starting today.
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She said that winds coming from the Indian state of Rajasthan and other areas have affected Multan and Gujranwala. The air quality index in Lahore has been recorded above 1,000, and the intensity of smog is likely to continue for the next 10 days.
The senior minister said that 50 percent of the staff in government and private offices will work from home, and government meetings will now be held on Zoom.
Targets have been given to all departments to combat smog, and a “smog war room” has been set up in the Environmental Protection Agency office, where air pollution is being monitored.
In response to a question, Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Maryam Nawaz Sharif had undergone throat surgery last year, but the infection recurred six months ago.
She will reach Geneva today, where she will receive treatment, and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on November 12.
She said that Maryam Nawaz Sharif has continued to serve the people of Punjab despite her ill health, and the impression that she went to London because of smog is incorrect.
