The government of Punjab has decided to construct plastic roads across the province.
The caretaker chief minister of Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has requested a plan for completing 107 inter-district road construction projects within three months.
He instructed to assure transparency and superior quality in road construction projects. The chief minister stated that all road construction contracts in Punjab are awarded via electronic procurement.
Naqvi stated that 137 road rehabilitation projects totaling 2,600 kilometers are nearing completion in Punjab.
Safe City Surveillance Upgrade
Naqvi also approved safe city projects in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala districts. The decision was made during a meeting chaired by the CM in Lahore to install surveillance cameras.
Emphasizing the importance of these projects, the CM directed the relevant authorities to take necessary measures for their prompt implementation in the three cities.
He highlighted that safe city projects would significantly enhance the law and order situation in these areas.
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All the roads constructed by current Punjab government already seems like made out of cheap plastic and not suitable for driving.
Without knowing the harmful impacts of plastic roads, such initiatives will have hazardous impacts:
1. Occupational Health and Safety-
To create the roads, plastic is mixed with chemical additives to add flexibility and delay degradation due to heat or sunlight, making the plastic fireproof. The workers making these plastic roads are directly at risk of inhaling these chemical toxins. Developing country like Pakistan has poor safety practices, and constructing plastic roads in large numbers might expose workers, particularly women, to cancer and hormonal problems.
2. Harmful Chemicals-With time, plastic roads can leach harmful chemicals such as phthalates into the surrounding environment.Phthalates can cause severe negative impacts on reproductive and development systems of humans and wildlife.
3. Food Chain- Another potential risk related to plastic roads is release of micro-particles into the food chain.