The assistant commissioner had stopped excavation of sand in the area where the labourers had been deployed. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE
A labourer was killed and two others were injured on Friday when a heap of sand they were excavating collapsed on them in Bahawalpur.
Rescuers said the deceased, Muhammad Akram, died on the spot.
They said the other two, Muhammad and Javed, were taken to the district headquarters hospital where their condition was later reported to be out of danger.
The family and relatives of the labourers staged a protest demonstration at DPO Chowk on Saturday against the contractors who, according to them, were responsible for the incident.
The protestors told the media that the assistant commissioner had prohibited excavation of sand in the area where the contractors had deployed the labourers.
They demanded that criminal cases be registered against contractors Shabbir, Ramazan and Razzaq.
The protestors also blamed the Minerals Department for not following the assistant commissioner’s orders and stopping the contractors.
The protest ended when District Police Officer Sohail Habib Tajik directed that cases be registered against the contractors, Minerals Department Director Abdul Ghaffar and a Mineral’s Department inspector.
The DPO assured the protestors that strict action would be taken against those found responsible for the hazardous work.
Additional Commissioner Muhammad Amjad Basheer also assured the families of the victims that a recommendation would be sent to the provincial government for payment of compensation.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2013.
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