LAHORE: The Awami Workers Party expresses grief over the deaths of eight workers in a boiler blast at a sugar mill in Toba Tek Singh and of two workers in the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train project, says a press release.
It demands that an impartial investigation be carried out to fix responsibility for the incident that led to the loss of precious lives at the factory. Media reports suggest that the opening of a steam valve during routine maintenance had caused the explosion.
A factory spokesperson has been reported to have said that a worker accidentally opened the valve as others were busy working inside. It is not acceptable to fix responsibility for the accident on the workers.
The party demands that the probe should ascertain the circumstances that had led to the opening of the valve. It should be investigated if the safety measures put in place were sufficient and if the employees had been briefed about the use of such measures.
The probe should explain if the valve was working properly when the accident took place and that the workers had been trained to use it properly.
The party will not accept the findings of an investigation carried out by a team that does not include an industrial engineer or other competent personnel.
The provincial government had announced an inquiry into the death of two workers during the construction of the Orange Line Train project in Lahore. The inquiry will be acceptable only if the team includes a construction engineer not associated with the project.
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) had stated that it would be determined if the standard operating procedures (SOPs) were followed or not. It is not enough to determine if the SOPs were enforced or not. The probe should also determine if those employed for the construction of the track were sufficiently briefed about the SOPs.