LAHORE: Caretaker Minister for Railways Shahid Ashraf Tarar says the old and dysfunctional locomotives, passenger coaches, goods’ wagons and other such material should be disposed of by devising a viable plan.

He further says the Pakistan Railways (PR) authorities should prioritise the safety of passengers and crew and of the officials working at various workshops, carriage factories and other field formations.

“The PR authorities are required to submit a viable plan to the ministry of railways as soon as possible for disposing of the entire old and non-usable rolling stock (locomotives, coaches, wagons etc).” the minister said while presiding over a meeting after he paid his first visit to the PR headquarters here on Sunday, seeking transparency in the disposal process.

On this occasion the minister was given a briefing by the authorities regarding PR hierarchy, departments, nature of works, operations, repair/maintenance, accidents, derailments, human resource, losses, revenue, freight and others matters.

He was also told about the business plans of the department and reasons behind loss and profit, material theft and delay in payment of salaries, pensions etc. He was also told about the upcoming railway projects including the ML-1 (main line-1).

“The PR app Rabta must be made user-friendly. Moreover, I would ask you to start and complete public-interest projects at your earliest,” he said, asking the officers to also submit an effective business plan to increase PR revenue and reduce expenditures.

He was of the view that without ensuring safety of passengers, the PR cannot move forward. The minister also directed the officers concerned to maintain the tracks, especially the existing ML-1’s Khanpur-Kotri-Khanpur portion.

Mr Tarar also ordered on-time payment of salaries and pensions to all employees and sought immediate submission of a plan in this regard.

“Moreover, in case of any accident, the officials responsible for it must be ready to face action,” he warned. He also sought switching the rail network over to solar power.

Later, the minister also visited the PR’s Mughalpura workshop.

ENVIRONMENT: Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) claims to have launched initiatives to handle the issue of smog.

According to LWMC Managing Director Babar Sahib Din, the enforcement teams in a bid to address the problem of waste burning, challaned a number of people, imposing fines exceeding Rs530,000 during the last 30 days.

LWMC also initiated a city-wide crackdown on waste burning, with strict actions being taken against violators. Furthermore, the enforcement teams began a comprehensive campaign against illegal waste-burning activities in all towns across the city.

“The enforcement teams got registered 60 FIRs against individuals involved in waste burning. Over 100 complaints have been filed in different police stations upon receiving reports of waste burning in different areas. Additionally, roadsides across the city are being extensively cleared through scraping and mechanical sweeping to prevent further dust emissions, contributing to a cleaner environment,” Mr Sahib Din explained.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2023