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South asia

cleaning Colombo: The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in the second week of October has directed the attorney general to prepare a new action plan within a month to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles in the capital city of Colombo.

Acting on a petition filed by the Environmental Foundation Limited, a public interest law group, the court suggested introducing a new traffic system to stop all vehicles at the entrance of the city and transport passengers into the city using a public transport system.

Also suggesting an increase in the number of bus terminals in the city, the court advised the government to shift from fossil fuel to clean natural gas as early as possible to reduce air pollution. The court directed the attorney general to convene a meeting of all government bodies and prepare a plan that can be implemented by 2010.

Pak dam Pollution: Taking note of complaints on pollution in and around the Khanpur Dam Lake in Pakistan, federal ombudsman Javed Saddiq Malik said the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was guilty of "mal-administration'.

The dam, located on the river Haro supplies drinking water to the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Public complaints had pointed out that real estate developers around the dam are contaminating the water reservoir by dumping waste into it. While saying that EPA's steps to prevent pollution in the lake were inadequate and unsatisfactory, Malik directed EPA to take action in 60 days.

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