further revealed that Samanabad Town is on the top with 153 industries comprising over 27garments units, 60 chemical units, 48 engineering units, six food related units and 12 textile units. Wagah Town captured the second slot with 60 industrial units including three garments, 15 chemicals, 36 engineering, five textile and one food while third is Shalimar Town with 13 industrial units. Other towns where hazardous chemicals and inflammable materials are used include Data Ganjh Baksh Town (11 industrial units), Ravi Town (Eight industrial units), Gulberg Town (Seven industrial units and Nishtar Town (Five industrial units). It is pertinent to mention here that there was no data related to Aziz Bhatti Town, which clearly raised aspersions over the health and genuineness of the survey and data collection process, sources claimed adding the government should hire a reputed independent company to check and verify survey results.
Sources claimed that even the Environment Protection Department (EPD), instead of sealing these most dangerous industrial units working in residential areas, issued notices to the majority asking them to update their firefighting system. Similarly, other concerned departments of the CDGL didn’t initiate any action to shift these industrial units from the residential localities.
As per Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, all the industrial units i.e. cottage or large are supposed to obtain
NOCs from the EPD, but over 70 percent industrial units operating in the city do not bother to fulfil this legal formality. Besides the above-mentioned industrial units, the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) had also identified over 100 dangerous buildings and the authority had already issued notices to them during monsoon season. Tania Qureshi, spokesman for the WCLA said the Punjab government has recently released Rs 200 million for rehabilitation and restoration of 72 dangerous buildings in the Walled City of Lahore. She said restoration and repair work of these buildings will be started soon.