KABUL (SW) – Second Vice President Sarwar Danish has said air pollution could prove worse than the coronavirus for the people of Afghanistan.
Addressing a moot in Kabul, he warned a catastrophe will occur if serious measures are not taken to manage air pollution. He stressed that serious measures should be taken to manage and reduce air pollution in the coming winter.
The Second Vice President said that collective poverty and the small budget of the National Environmental Protection Agency are major challenges in this regard.
Speaking on the occasion, Shah Zaman Maiwandi, head of the National Environmental Protection Agency, said there is no coordination between the agencies responsible for reducing air pollution, and that each agency needs to take responsibility. Maiwandi said that 90% of the country's air pollution is caused by the activities of the transport, energy and industry sectors, and these agencies should not give up trying to have clean air.
The head of the National Environmental Protection Agency also called on the owners of private companies, commercial estates, brick kilns and public baths to install smoke filters before winter arrives, and if they are not installed, they will be dealt with legally.
ENDS
