LAHORE:Even after witnessing the tragic death of a mother and her daughter at Bhatti Gate, the contractors of different ongoing projects didn’t bother to ensure safety SOPs at the sites.
Presently, a number of ongoing development projects, including four Structural Plan Roads (SPRs) was going on in City under LDA’s Engineering wing where senior officers and LDA Director General Tahir Farooq also visited frequently.
A visit to one of the SPR starting from Shadiwal Chowk in Johar Town and ending near Wapda Town revealed many shortcomings, including absence of ‘work in progress’ signs, covering of dangerous areas of the project with green sheets/cloth and etc.
The main dangerous part of the ongoing project was that construction material especially heaps of tuff tiles were left on the road without any warning signs, which may cause an accident especially at night hours.
At many portions of the road, which were ‘completed’, tuff tiles were also seen scattered, which also cause damage to the passing vehicles as well as causing accidents.Similarly, a big heap of uncovered sand was also present on the constructed part of the road contributing to increased AQI as well as a potential danger for the traffic. Hanging electricity wires and unfenced sewerage line cause problems for the citizens at the project site. The scribe repeatedly tried to contact the LDA’s Project Director concerned but he didn’t bother to reply.
Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Housing and Urban Development Bilal Yasin on Tuesday directed that all ongoing development project sites across the province be declared no-go areas, allowing entry only to authorised personnel. He instructed that all sites be covered and illuminated to prevent accidents.
The directives came during a meeting on departmental performance, attended by LDA DGTahir Farooq, WasaDG Punjab Tayyab Farid, TEPA Chief Engineer and WasaMD Lahore, who briefed the minister on ongoing development works.
The minister ordered the Additional Secretary Housing to expedite legislation on manhole SOPs across Punjab. Safety boards will also be installed in high-risk areas.Chief Engineer TEPA reported that demolition from Bhati Chowk to Mohini Road will be completed within two days and roads cleared. WasaMD added that development work under the Lahore Development Plan will be paused during Basant. He noted that Lahore has 337,000 manholes, while Punjab has over 1.2 million, and that 110 open drains in Lahore and over 1,100 across the province are being addressed.The minister also directed TEPA Chief Engineer to submit detailed reports on ongoing works at Data Darbar and Bhati Chowk sites.
