LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz reiterated her call for climate diplomacy with India to tackle the worsening issue of smog on both sides of the border.
The New Delhi region battles pollution each year as temperatures fall and cold air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke, much of which officials say travels from the neighbouring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana.
On Monday night, Lahore was the most polluted city in the world, touching 708 points on the Air Quality Index (AQI). Today, according to IQAir, Delhi held the top rank with 196 points, with Lahore just six points behind it.
Addressing a Diwali event in Lahore today, Maryam said: “We need to have diplomacy with India regarding the issue of smog in Lahore. I’m thinking of writing a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister [Bhagwant Mann] in India that this is not just a political issue, this is a humanitarian issue.
“And if we’re also taking steps towards this, then there should be a matching response from the Indian side,” she stressed.“The winds don’t know there’s a border in the middle,” she lightheartedly remarked before emphasising that the people and environment on both sides of the border will benefit from this diplomacy.
“Until both Punjabs come together, we won’t be able to tackle the issue of smog,” she said.CM Maryam’s remarks today echoed her October 10 call for “climate diplomacy” with India to mitigate the impact of smog in Punjab.
Last week, Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb called on Lahore residents of Lahore to “declare war on smog”. She noted that 30 per cent of the city’s smog hovered over from India.
According to a report earlier this month, at least 71 people have been arrested for burning stubble and trash, operating prohibited brick kilns and driving smoke-emitting vehicles in Punjab. In India’s Haryana state, at least 16 farmers have been arrested for illegally burning paddy stubble.
The chief minister also announced that a ‘Minority Card’ will be launched in Punjab on December 20 to aid those with less financial resources.
