FAISALABAD City News

‘1,470 vulnerable buildings in Faisalabad’

From Our Correspondent

FAISALABAD: As many as 1,470 buildings of Faisalabad have been declared vulnerable under the Vulnerable Establishment Act while the Faisalabad city will be made safe within next three years under the Safe Cities Project of the Punjab government.

It was said by acting DCO Kanwar Ijaz Khaliq while addressing the business community of Faisalabad at the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday. He told that under the VEA, all vulnerable buildings would be identified, including schools, hospitals, business centers and even government offices. He told that security advisory committees at the sub-division level would be constituted to visit and advise the owners of buildings prone to terrorist and subversive activities to take necessary security measures to avert any untoward incident. He told that all individuals were bound to cooperate with the advisory committee, however in case of non-compliance of these instructions, the specific building could be sealed or its operation could be suspended. He said that incase of extreme action, FIR could also be lodged under sections of non-bailable clauses. He said that the government had included Faisalabad in Safe Cities Project under which latest technology would be used with integrated network of cameras for surveillance and security of congested and thickly populated areas of the city. However, this project would take two or three years to complete, he maintained. He said that if the business community and civil society of Faisalabad intends to install safety cameras right now, the district administration was ready to cooperate and would formulate a comprehensive and integrated security system, which could be monitored from a central control room. He said that he had installed cameras on experimental basis in the District Courts area, which helped discouraging of vehicles theft incidents. He said that Jhal Chowk Underpass project had been delayed, however, now it was expected to be completed by April 15. He told that direct traffic from the city to Satiana Road had been restored. About Faisalabad Expressway, he said that its cost had been increased by Rs 1.5 billion as the chief minister had directed to construct three lanes instead of two lanes. About Children Hospital, he said that 1,000-bed hospital would be the second largest children hospital of the world with all specialties available in the world. He said that outdoor ward and emergency was extending services and hopefully the remaining departments would also become operational soon. FCCI president Ch Muhammad Nawaz said that the business community had always fulfilled its social corporate responsibilities and they would also arrange the facility of generator for the children hospital. The DCO also briefed about the development works in Ghulam Muhammadabad and DHQ hospitals. He told that a triple storey building for kidney centre had also been completed with the help of business community. About parking plazas, he said that an advertisement for the auction of first and second floors of parking plaza outside Chiniot Bazaar would be released in mid April. On demand, the acting DCO announced to shift the filth depot in front of Al-Fateh on Jaranwala Road. He told that the administration was already removing encroachments and a meeting with traders in this connection was scheduled to be held today. Regarding notices issued to the industries by environmental protection department, he said that this issue could be resolved amicably at local level. Earlier, FCCI president Muhammad Nawaz and SVP Syed Zia Alamdar Hussain highlighted the problems confronted by the business community.