Buildings' fire safety audit ordered

Punjab CM expresses grief over deaths in Karachi's Gul Plaza fire

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has ordered an audit of fire safety systems in both public and private buildings in the province.

Presiding over a meeting, she also ordered that roads must be fully reconstructed after excavation for sewerage and drainage projects.

CM Maryam Nawaz stressed that pits dug for development projects in neighbourhoods must be properly covered and fenced. She said manhole levels should not protrude to prevent accidents. She ordered the establishment of control rooms and management cells in all deputy commissioner offices to monitor Punjab Development Plan projects. She was informed that transparency measures in PDP Phase-I projects had saved Rs2.8 billion.

The chief minister said sewerage, disposal, drainage and water storage projects would be undertaken in Sargodha, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujrat and Jhang, while trunk sewerage, new disposal stations and drainage systems for rainwater would be developed in Jhelum, Hafizabad and Okara.

She ordered the development of green belts and green spaces in every city and said a single utility corridor should be created under development projects to avoid repeated excavations in neighbourhoods.

She said electricity poles should be installed at the edges of roads, while overhead wires and cables must be neatly organised after beautification, with no tangled wiring visible.

The chief minister ordered installation of streetlights in tehsils and said new, uniform manhole covers made of plastic-like material were being introduced. She also directed that yellow and black stones be used along footpath edges instead of paint.

She also said open-air gyms, walking tracks and entertainment centres should be developed in various areas.

She ordered that all projects under the PDP be geo-tagged to ensure transparency and monitoring.

Meanwhile, Punjab Emergency Services Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique ordered complete implementation of the Building Safety Regulations 2022 throughout the province

Chairing a meeting, he ordered strict action as per law in case of violation of the regulations.

According to an official statement, a survey of 2,214 high-rise buildings across Punjab has been completed.

A plan to expand the firefighting service to 39 more tehsils of Punjab at a cost of about Rs 2 billion is also being implemented.

Khawaja Salman said the credit for an air ambulance service and emergency services on motorways goes to the Punjab government. Implementation of Building Safety Regulations 2022 is the need of the hour to prevent the loss of lives and the Punjab government is committed to enforcing the law.

The minister said the business community had always cooperated with the government. He said implementation of the Building Safety Regulations would be ensured with the cooperation of the business community.

Provincial Emergency Services Secretary Dr Rizwan Naseer said in a briefing that Punjab had a modern fire and rescue service. Building Safety Regulations 2022 have been notified in Punjab, Rescue 1122 has so far responded to more than 280,000 fire emergencies and saved potential losses of Rs768 billion

The rescue service in Punjab has 281 fire vehicles and 2,446 trained fire rescuers.

The official said safety grading of high-rise buildings across the province had also been done.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also issued a statement expressing deep grief and sorrow over the death of at least 26 people in a fire in Karachi at Gul Plaza.

She prayed for the safe recovery of the missing persons and said the pain and suffering of the families of those who had lost their lives in the incident was beyond words.

She extended heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families during this difficult time.