Digitalised parking project from next week

LAHORE: The Punjab Safe Cities Authority and Lahore Parking Company are going to launch a technology-backed fully digitalized parking project, the Safe Parking Project, first of its kind in Lahore city, to improve security and eliminate corruption with regard to vehicle parking.

In a meeting chaired by the PSCA COO at Qurban Lines, LePark Managing Director Qalb-e-Abbas along with GM Operations Brig (r) Sarfraz Ahmed finalised the appraisal work carried out so far in this regard and announced opening of the digitalized Safe Parking Project next week, initially from Liberty Market Parking. Motorists will receive e-parking tickets. The PSCA will extend technical and telecommunication support to the project.

Rescue 1122: Punjab Emergency Service/Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Rizwan Naseer has said that increasing number of fire emergencies necessitated the implementation of Building Code of Pakistan- Fire Safety Provisions - 2016 to reduce the risk of fire incidents.

He said Fire Rescue Service responded to 17,596 fire emergencies in 2018 and saved properties, etc, approximately worth Rs 45,385 million due to timely response and professional firefighting in Punjab. He highlighted that short circuits, negligence and carelessness have become the leading causes of fire emergencies.

He said this during the annual performance review meeting of Fire Emergency Response held at Rescue Headquarters here on Friday. The DG said the purpose of the review of fire incidents was to identify any shortcomings in firefighting and sensitise the authorities concerned to prevent such emergencies in future.

Head of Operations Ayaz Aslam presented the yearly report of fire emergencies which showed that 73 people died in 17,596 fire incidents in Punjab in 2018. Compared to 2017, there has been an increase of 1,141 fire emergencies.

According to the date, 8,106 fire emergencies happened due to short-circuits, 8,70 due to gas leakage, 4,886 due to carelessness/ smoking, 39 due to candles, 77 due to LPG cylinders blasts, 98 due to Kitchen fires, 171 due to forest fire, 779 due to unknown reasons and 2,414 due to other multiple reasons. Majority of fire incidents occurred in major districts as 3890 incidents occurred in Lahore, 1,715 in Faisalabad, 1,008 in Gujranwala and 850 in Rawalpindi.

The Rescue 1122 DG said the domestic fire emergencies caused by negligence could be prevented with a little vigilance and care while using gas heaters, kitchen stoves, candles and other domestic accessories. He urged the owners of industries to ensure fire safety measures according to the building-by laws and take appropriate steps to install fire hydrants. He said the owners of industrial and commercial buildings should realise the significance of fire safety.

He said collective efforts for implementation of the Fire Safety Code Pakistan could reduce the increasing number of emergencies in the country.