LAHORE, Oct 5: The Punjab government plans to shift potentially `hazardous industries` from city`s urban areas to Sundar Industrial Estate in order to avoid loss of life in industrial accidents.

Punjab Industrial Estates Management and Development Company Chairman SM Tanveer said this while talking to a group of journalists after a meeting of PIEMDC board of directors here on Friday.

The chairman told journalists that on the direction of the chief minister, the PIEMDC had acquired 50 acres in Sundar Industrial Estate for the purpose.

He said 220 units in the Estate had started production while 36 others would soon start working.

He said the buildings of 201 industrial units in the Estate were underconstruction while the boundary walls of 110 others had already been completed.

`Eight multinational companies had also made their units operational in the Estate among others,` he added.

Safety equipment The City District Government of Lahore has issued notices to owners of factories/workplaces functioning in city areas to equip their business places within a week with instruments required for the health and safety of workers.

`Since a survey of industrial units located in residential localities of all nine towns of the city has been completed by 45 teams, we have given a week`s deadline to owners to installfire-fighting and other equipments at their workplaces,` said DCO Noorul Amin Mengal while presiding over a meeting here on Friday.

He said a strict action such as sealing of industrial units and arresting their owners would be taken after the deadline.

The meeting was told that there were 7,750 industrial units in residential areas and 85 per cent of them were being operated without adopting safety measures.

The DCO directed survey teams to carry on their work and start checking workplaces from Saturday (today) for ensuring implementation of the CDGL directives.

He also requested the civil society and media persons to cooperate with the district administration in this regard.VISIT: The DCO paid a surprise visit to the Miani Sahib graveyard and directed officials concerned to start earth filling of seven acres of land near the graveyard within a fortnight.

He also ordered the cancellation of allotments of land (reservation of land for burial in advance by the people), directing officials to return the amount to the people who had purchased it for the burial of their kin.

He said the CDGL had also moved a summary to the Punjab chief minister for acquiring 6,000 kanals of land worth Rs1 billion so as to establish three new graveyards.

He also visited the food street and directed the administration to make arrangements for the promotion of local culture and heritage.