On the direction of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the Punjab government on Tuesday launched a cleanliness and anti-smog drive called “Chamkta Lahore”, aimed at improving sanitation, reducing airborne dust and ensuring cleaner roads and public spaces across Lahore. The campaign, launched at a time when smog is a seasonal concern in the city, combines sanitation work with specific measures to suppress dust in the air.
Minister for Local Government Zeeshan Rafique inaugurated the campaign at a ceremony held at Liberty Chowk. Liberty Chowk, a well-known location in Lahore, provided a public setting for the launch, signalling the campaign’s focus on the city’s public spaces. The inauguration by the local government minister reflects the campaign’s grounding in municipal services, particularly waste management and road maintenance.
The Lahore Waste Management Company is involved in the drive. That company is responsible for waste collection and cleanliness services in Lahore, and its involvement indicates that the campaign will draw on existing municipal capacity for sanitation work. Improving sanitation, reducing dust and cleaning public spaces are all tasks that fall within the remit of waste management and local government services.
Rafique said anti-smog measures introduced over the past two years had produced encouraging results, adding that smog levels in November were noticeably lower than two years ago. That assessment provides a context for the new campaign: it is presented not as a first step, but as a continuation and intensification of measures introduced over the past two years. The claim that November smog levels are noticeably lower than two years ago, if borne out by monitoring data, would be consistent with the separate EPCCD report of improved air quality in Lahore, including a lower peak Air Quality Index in October 2026.
A key feature of the campaign is the provision of 10 anti-smog mist guns mounted on rickshaws, which spray water into the air to suppress dust and complement road-washing operations. Mist guns work by spraying fine droplets of water into the air, which bind with dust particles and bring them to the ground, reducing the amount of airborne dust. Mounting them on rickshaws allows them to move through different parts of the city, reaching areas where dust is a problem. Their role, as described, is to complement road washing, not to replace it.
For residents, the campaign’s impact will be most visible in the condition of roads and public spaces in their own areas. Road washing, if carried out regularly, should be noticeable in reduced dust on major routes. The mist guns, operating from rickshaws, are a more novel feature, and their presence in different neighbourhoods may become a visible sign of the campaign’s activity.
The timing of the launch, on Tuesday and on the direction of the chief minister, places the campaign at the start of November, a month in which smog levels in Lahore are closely watched. The minister’s statement that smog levels in November are noticeably lower than two years ago sets an expectation that the current November will continue that trend. The campaign is therefore both a practical operation and a statement of intent for the smog season ahead.
The involvement of the Lahore Waste Management Company, the inauguration at Liberty Chowk, and the specific targets for road washing and mist guns together give the campaign a concrete shape. It is not presented as a general appeal for cleanliness, but as an operation with defined activities, equipment and targets. Its success will be judged by whether those activities are sustained and whether Lahore’s roads and public spaces are visibly cleaner as a result.
For now, the launch marks the beginning of “Chamkta Lahore” as a named campaign. Its progress through November, and its effect on dust and sanitation in the city, will become clearer as the road-washing targets are pursued and the mist guns are deployed across Lahore.
Source: The Nation, 4 November 2026
