LAHORE  -  The provincial government of Punjab in Pakistan is consid­ering a proposal for a weekly Wednesday holiday to combat smog. This measure aims to reduce pollution levels and im­prove air quality in the region. Under this proposal, markets, universities, schools, banks, traffic, and offices would be closed every Wednesday, start­ing from the following week.

However, there has been some confusion among citi­zens regarding the implemen­tation date of this decision. The Commissioner’s Office clarified that the new policy would take effect from the upcoming week, pending ap­proval from the provincial cabinet. Until then, all educa­tional institutions, markets, and offices would remain open on Wednesdays. Additionally, there is a proposal for “work from home” arrangements in educational institutions and offices, which has been sub­mitted to the Punjab govern­ment. The final decision on these measures will be made by the provincial government.

The Commissioner of Lahore, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, emphasized the importance of taking businessmen into confi­dence when making these deci­sions. He also pledged strict ac­tion against uncovered trolleys, open building debris, and the failure to sprinkle water in con­struction areas. In an effort to combat smog, Section 144 has been imposed in the entire divi­sion, including Lahore. This sec­tion allows legal action against various activities that contrib­ute to pollution, such as burn­ing waste and crop residue, as well as keeping or disposing of building debris improperly.

The Punjab Government’s spokesperson stated that the final decision on the weekly holiday and other anti-smog measures would be taken by the provincial cabinet. This in­cludes the “work from home” proposal for educational and government institutions. Rec­ommendations from experts and related departments will be reviewed in the next cabi­net meeting. Despite these efforts, a significant faction of Lahore’s trader union has opposed the proposal to close markets every Wednesday for two months due to smog. They argued that other sources of pollution, such as factories, rickshaws, and brick kilns, should be targeted instead. Business conditions have al­ready been challenging due to high inflation, and they be­lieved that these forced closures would further harm the economy.

Mujahid Maqsood Butt, the president of the Association of Traders, has called on the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab to reconsider the deci­sion to close markets on Wednesdays. The commissioner Lahore said traders could open markets on Sundays as per their requirement. Commissioner Lahore assured that decisions will be made taking businessmen into con­fidence. Commissioner Lahore encouraged the traders association to plant trees Moreover, all the markets, education­al institutions and of­fices in Lahore will open as usual on Wednesday (today). He added that a final decision was yet to be taken on the ex­pert suggestions and recommendations to be submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Smog and all the suggestions and recom­mendations for the so­lution of smog will be reviewed in the next meeting of the cabinet. 

In the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Smog, several pro­posals were presented regarding the reduction of smog, he added and said several recommen­dations were also pre­sented by the experts and related depart­ments in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Anti-Smog measures. The spokesperson said, due to rain in Lahore, Air Quality Index has reached 55 adding a plan of action will be determined for the con­tinuation of reduction in Air Quality Index.