Pollution has brought India and Pakistan on a common platform. For clearing the air on environmental pollution and smog, the Pak’s Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif has invited his Indian counterpart Capt Amarinder Singh to make a ‘collective effort’.
Sharif has shot off a communique to Capt Amarinder expressing concern over the mounting pollution in this part of the region while also urging him for entering into a ‘regional cooperation arrangement’.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has all along been urging Capt Amarinder to together resolve the issue of pollution and smog, primarily caused by vehicular and industrial emissions, other than the stubble burning.
Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal had made ‘futile’ attempts to meet Capt Amarinder over the issue, who has, time and again, put the ball in the Centre’s court seeking ‘compensation’ for the farmers to manage their crop residue.
Soon after, the government of Pakistan’s Punjab too tweeted urging Capt Amarinder to take measures to improve the air quality, including a ban on stubble burning. “We have imposed a ban on stubble burning in Punjab (Pakistan) and hope @capt_amarinder takes similar measures. Some of our medium/long term action plan to combat SMOG are: https://t.co/xmA4fP3lz8. Environmental hazards threaten our people and habitat. let us act fast to counter it.” Pak’s Punjab Government had tweeted on November 8.
The problem of burning the crop residue is rampant in Indian and Pakistani parts of Punjab, resulting in poor air quality in this part of the Indian sub-continent. So much so, that not just the populace of Delhi, but lahore in Pakistan too is a suffering lot.
It was also through Twitter that the Pak’s Punjab Government informed that its Chief Minister has written a letter to Capt Amarinder. “The intensity of smog issue that has wide implications for human health calls for concerted efforts to take on this challenge. @CMShehbaz has written a letter to the Chief Minister of Indian Punjab @capt_amarinder for a cooperative & coordinated approach. @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/FgStC4WjXc” it tweeted on Tuesday.
In his letter, Sharif has stated, “I would like to invite you for entering into a regional cooperation arrangement to tackle the issue of smog as well as environmental pollution. let us join hands for securing a prosperous future for the people of our two provinces.”
Sharif said: “The main causes of smog range from vehicular and industrial emissions to rice stubble burning. The phenomenon has now assumed regional proportions and it now engulfs areas from New Delhi to lahore and beyond.”
“You will agree with me that the problem is essentially scientific and economic and cannot be tackled through other means,” he added while stressing that the menace had only worsened each year and had spread far beyond its place of origin.
Sharif said that it was in the interest of both the Punjabs to make a collective effort to identify technologies and business methods that might eliminate the need to burn paddy stubble and help control smog.
It has been learnt that the Chief Minister’s Office is preparing a reply to Sharif’s letter.