Dozens of shops, wedding halls and restaurants were sealed in Lahore as authorities have intensified enforcement of early market closures at 8 p.m to address smog issues.
According to details, 75 shops and several wedding halls have been sealed across Lahore for violating closing hours, while 14 restaurants were shut down for defying the ban on outdoor dining.
In Shalimar Tehsil, 9 shops and 3 restaurants were sealed for violations, while City Tehsil saw 4 shops sealed for staying open past designated hours.
In Ravi Tehsil, authorities sealed 12 shops, and in Raiwind Tehsil, 4 restaurants and 4 shops were closed for non-compliance.
Cantonment Tehsil saw 5 shops and 3 restaurants sealed, and in Saddar Tehsil, 5 shops were also shut down for breaching closing time regulations.
In a move aimed at tackling the severe smog affecting Lahore, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued an order on Friday requiring all markets to close by 8:00 PM daily and remain closed on Sundays.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Shahid Karim, follows repeated hearings and calls for action, highlighting the failure of previous measures to effectively address the smog issue. Justice Karim emphasized the need for practical solutions and expressed reluctance to issue orders that cannot be properly enforced.
The decision to enforce market closures came after various government agencies submitted reports detailing their efforts to combat smog. In addition to the market closures, the court directed authorities to restrict vehicle access to motorways and the Ring Road, and imposed a full ban on the entry of trucks and trailers into Lahore.
