Intensity of SMOG will be lesser in Punjab this year.

LAHORE -- The intensity of SMOG will be lesser this year while Punjab government has already declared it calamity and Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) initiated compressive strategy to control it. Senior Member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Baber Hayat Tarar told this during addressing a press conference in Lahore on Wednesday. He said that strict actions were initiated against the factors cause SMOG while district governments and five departments were engaged to control the SMOG and support the PDMA on it. Further, PDA has been increasing capacity of the allied departments to control the SMOG. He was accompanied by secretary environment Zahid Hussain and DG PDMA Khurram Umar Shahzad. The SMBR said that it was wrong impression that only burning of rice crop residuals was the major reason of the SMOG. Rather, the fact is that agriculture crops burning contributed only 8 percent to the SMOG while 12 percent was contributed from the crops burning of India. He said traffic smoke was the major cause of the SMOG in the Punjab and this is due to use of substandard fuels in vehicles.

He said that traffic smoke was contributing 43 percent to SOMG, and 25 percent from the industries and 20 percent from the liter burning. In the lights...