Employee safety: Safety measures ordered for Orange Line workers

Health regulations must be followed for labourers, says committee chairman

LAHORE: It is a must to follow health and safety regulations to ensure that labourers are protected when working on the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT) project.

This was said by OLMT Steering Committee Chairperson Khawaja Ahmad Hassan during the project’s weekly progress review meeting on Wednesday. He urged special care as foggy conditions were prevailing over the city.

Hassan directed metro train contractors and utility companies to immediately provide the required safety gear for workers to avoid any untoward incident. While speaking about negligence towards workers’ safety, he said it was painful to see that the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (LESCO) allowed employees to perform duty at a height of 70 feet without safety gear. “It cannot be tolerated as human lives are at stake,” he added. “Moreover, any untoward incident can cause a bad name for the project.”



Therefore, Hassan directed city traffic police officials to ensure all precast material is properly escorted by the traffic officials so that no accident occurs during transportation from the manufacturing yard to the project site.

He also called on the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) to pay special attention to the cleanliness of areas where construction work was in progress as it was a primary function that needed proper attention.

Work in progress

Participants of the meeting were told that 56% of the groundwork on the metro train project has been completed, while progress on the project’s package-1 (from Dera Gujjaran to Chauburji) was touching 72%. As many as 234 transoms and 189 u-tub girders have also been installed along the route. Over 50% of the construction work on a bridge crossing Lahore Ring Road, near Dera Gujjaran, has been completed while work on the underground passage from Shisha Market Chowk to The Mall was well under way.

Prequalified firms have been given another opportunity to file their tenders by December 23 for the construction of a new storm water drain, starting from Haji Camp at Nicholson Road to Ravi River via Lakshmi Chowk, Chauburji and other areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2016.