LAHORE: In its bid to control environment degradation, the district administration on Monday ordered oil marketing companies to ensure availability of Euro 5 petrol at city petrol pumps.

For the last two weeks, the metropolitan city has often been listed as top-most polluted city in the world due to smog. On Monday, the city was again marked as the second-most polluted city in the world. Environmentalists term the situation alarming for the health of the citizens and suggest people to wear masks outdoor. Earlier, the district administration also constituted five ‘anti-smog squads’ to monitor pollution levels in the provincial metropolis and take action against those contributing to the hazardous air quality index.

Every squad would visit 60 industrial (furnace/boilers) units in a week and seal those using substandard fuel. The squads would check the status of pollution monitoring devices and compliance of Judicial Environmental Commission measures. Last year, the government had termed the smog calamity.

Deputy Commissioner Umar Sher Chattha held a meeting with representatives of the oil marketing companies. Petrol pumps managers and additional deputy commissioner were also present in the meeting.

The meeting asked petrol pumps to ensure availability and sale of only Euro 5 petrol on their pumps to control pollution.

Premier Euro 5 is an international standard fuel that ensures peak performance in petrol-run vehicles.

The DC said action would be taken against pump-owners and administrators found selling low quality petrol.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2021