Nobody in the provincial capital is safe from the fine particulate matter present in hazardous concentrations in the atmosphere, primarily due to unabated infrastructure development projects, Pakistan Today has learned.
Lahore, which was once known as the city of gardens, has become a city of dust because of a lack of town planning.
Almost eight years have passed since continuous construction in the name of development has been carried out in the city. While contributing to the development of the city, these projects also pose health threats to citizens and not one of them can claim to be unaffected by the hazardous levels of dust.
Currently, the major factor creating dust in the air surrounding the city is the ongoing Orange Line Metro Train project, heavily affecting Daroghawala, Shalimar, UET, Baghbanpura, Lakshmi Chowk, Chuburji, Samanabad, Yateem Khana Chowk, Mansoora, and Thokar Niaz Baig and their surrounding areas.
Another project which added to the problem was the recently completed widening of the Canal Road by the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), which particularly affected commuters.
Due to the rising levels of dust, commuters travelling on city roads face increasing difficulties in breathing, while also experiencing eye burning and nausea. This problem is not just being faced by commuters travelling on roads adjacent to the construction projects, but also those residing in localities far away from the sites.
The increase in particulate matter concentrations is not just caused by development projects but also vehicles carrying construction materials. Most of the trucks carrying clay, bricks, and sand take no safety measures and as a result, particulate matter flies off from them and is carried into the atmosphere by the wind.
Contractors of the ongoing projects sprinkle water on the ground surrounding the project, but the approach provides only a temporary solution. The water dries very soon in the hot city, and the matter is once again spread by speeding traffic.
The particulate matter is categorised as respirable particulate matter (PM2.5) and suspended particulate matter (SPM). According to national environment quality standards (NEQS) PM2.5 must not exceed 35 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) and SPM 350 ug/m3. PM 2.5 is the more dangerous of the two and damages lungs and causes respiratory diseases when inhaled.
An official in the provincial Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that all projects have to obtain no objection certificates (NOCs) before they can begin their work and that all such NOCs entail that contractors will use such methods that restrict dust levels.
“Due to construction in the city, the PM 2.5 level has been exceeded by more than five times”, he said, adding that contractors had been warned multiple times to adopt suitable measures but the warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears. He further said that the department was unable to act against contractors working on projects approved by the government.
Lahore Bachao Tehreek’s convener Imrana Tiwana was of the view that poor planning for development projects has changed Lahore’s identity and made it a city of dust. Talking to Pakistan Today, she said that chopping trees from besides city roads was also a cause of the increasing levels of atmospheric particulate matter.
Medical experts believe that ambient air quality has deteriorated to a dangerous level. A senior physician at Mayo Hospital, Dr Salman Kazmi told Pakistan Today that PM2.5 is more dangerous as it enters the blood through the lungs, while PM10 affects the eyes, skin, throat, and respiratory system.
“Children are at a greater risk due to their weak immune systems”, he said, adding that even those mostly staying indoors are not safe from the pollution.
EPA Spokesperson Naseemur Rehman Shah admitted to Pakistan Today that dust levels in the city had increased due to various construction projects, but added that dusty winds are also one of the major causes of the problem. It must be observed, however, that unnaturally dusty wind is the problem itself, and the rising pollution is not being caused by nature but by us and our government.
