Motorways closed as smog again descends on Punjab cities

LAHORE:Dense fog has again blanketed several cities of Punjab, including Lahore, on the night between Wednesday and Thursday, paralysing routine life and disrupting road traffic, Dunya News reported.

The smog badly affected the inter city traffic. According to a Motorway spokesperson, the Motorway M2 from Sheikhupura to Kot Momin, Motorway M3 from Lahore to Darkhana, Motorway M4 from Pindi Bhattian to Abdul Hakeem, Motorway M5 from Shersha to Zahir Pir and Motorway M11 from Lahore to Sialkot have been closed to all kinds of traffic.

The Motorway police have appealed the drivers to drive slowly and switch on fog lights. They have also requested the people to stay home and avoid unnecessary travelling. Smog also disrupted traffic at several places in the province at the National Highway due to low visibility.

RESTRICTIONS ON MARKETS PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED

Meanwhile, the decision to close shops, shopping malls and markets in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala at 8pm was partially implemented despite sealing of shops by the district administrations.

The government also banned outdoor dining at restaurants, outdoor games, exhibitions and events from Nov 11 to 17.

HEALTH SITUATION WORSENS

The poisonous smoke has compounded health problems of people in Lahore and elsewhere.

According to health department figures, more than 35,000 patients visited five major hospitals in Lahore with smog-related problems in the last few days.

The health officials reported that most of the visitors were children having complaints of dry cough, difficulty in breathing, pneumonia and chest infection.

In a report a coulpe of days ago, UNICEF revealed that more than 11 million children under the age of five in Punjab are at risk due to highly polluted air.

Satellite images released by US space agency NASA showed dense smog enveloping Lahore and Multan last weekend. No roads and buildings could be seen due to smog.