Lahore (Staff Report): The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday ordered the authorities concerned to close markets and restaurants in provincial capital by 10:00pm to control the smog.
LHC judge Justice Shahid Karim took up public interest petitions on remedying the ongoing smog situation, ordered the closure of all markets and restaurants in Lahore by 10 pm on weekdays as well as sealing any schools that opened on Friday.
The court also ordered markets to remain open on Sundays from 2 pm to 10 pm and that restaurants would close at 11 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Last week, the Punjab government, on the LHC’s order, issued a notification directing closure of schools and offices in the city for additional two days — Friday and Saturday — weekly due to the worsening smog condition.
Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi imposed an environmental emergency in Lahore and other cities after declaring the smog a calamity.
