Lahore Commissioner (LC) Captain (retired) Muhammad Usman has said that an FIR will be lodged for attempted murder against the concerned department or agency if a manhole or hole is found uncovered in the city.
The order was given by the LC during a review meeting regarding the beautification project of three roads in the provincial capital, Lahore. The meeting was attended by the representatives of all the concerned departments and agencies including Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Lahore Waste Management Authority (LWMC), Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (TEPA), Municipal Corporation Lahore (MCL) and others.
The matter of open and damaged manholes was the center point of the meeting after a minor lost his life by falling into an uncovered manhole in Faisalabad on Saturday.
After the issue was highlighted in the media, Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal had ordered a probe into the matter.
In the meeting, the LC said that manholes were not just dangerous for children but also caused road accidents. “Such incidents are routine matters due to negligence of government agencies,” said Usman.
Usman further asked the LDA representative about the reason for delay in repair work at several roads in city, to which he replied that LDA had started patch work on different roads especially on Ferozpur Road, but the speed was slow as machinery was not allowed to work during daytime.
The LDA representative also asked for permission to continue work during the day.
Moreover, the commissioner ordered the LWMC to remove all garbage containers from the roadsides and place them on some other spots while directing the company to devise a mechanism to collect garbage door to door.
He also ordered the city district administration to deploy permanent staff to remove encroachments from Ferozpur and other roads.
The issue of hanging wires and cables along the roadside was also discussed in the meeting. Usman directed that a deadline will be given to all government agencies and cable companies to place the cables underground within a certain time limit, after which all such wires that appeared on the roads would be removed.
