LAHORE: Punjab’s Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has intensified anti-smog measures by deploying Quick Response Units (QRUs) to detect and extinguish crop-residue fires during the rice-harvesting season.
Director General of the Punjab Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Abdullah Nayyer Sheikh, on Sunday conducted a surprise visit to inspect the operational readiness of Quick Response Units (QRUs) deployed along motorways to prevent and control crop-residue burning as part of the province’s intensified anti-smog preparations.
The surprise inspection was part of the department’s preventive strategy to detect and extinguish crop-residue fires before they spread and add to the worsening air quality during the critical pre-smog period.
The department is using fire-anomaly detection, drone surveillance and motorway patrolling to identify stubble-burning incidents and ensure rapid responses.
According to the EPA, 67 QRUs equipped with tractor-mounted fire bowsers have been deployed across 10 hotspot districts. The teams aim to prevent crop-residue fires from spreading and contributing to seasonal air pollution.