Pak's Punjab govt may impose Covid-19-like restrictions in Lahore as air quality worsens
Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab government may impose coronavirus-like restrictions here in the provincial capital to control the worsening smog situation, according to a media report on Tuesday.
Quoting the sources, Geo News reported that the authorities are likely to announce a complete shutdown on Wednesdays when all schools, markets, and factories will be closed.
The city's Commissioner said the authorities will also announce a work-from-home policy for two months to combat smog in the Lahore Division.
The decision came after a meeting with traders to discuss the proposal to keep markets closed on Wednesdays.
“Traders can open markets on Sundays if they want," Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa said.
Under the new policy, the government departments will operate with 50 per cent strength on Wednesday, the report said, adding that it has also been advised to carry out snap-checking on weekends - Saturday and Sunday.
The report also said that the administration has been advised to impose heavy fines on factories violating the law and shut them in case of continuous ignorance of the directives.
The highest level of smog was recorded on the first three days of the week - Monday to Wednesday, the report said.
Meanwhile, a Swiss air quality technology company, IQAir, said that Lahore ranked number one among 109 cities in the world to have the worst air quality.
The provincial capital on Monday recorded 175 AQI US. Simultaneous construction of various mega infrastructure development projects, traffic issues, industries’ operation and other factors are said to be causing massive pollution in Lahore.
The IQAir measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends a maximum PM2.5 concentration of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
