LAHORE: Punjab government has decided to take stern action against the violators of one dish and timing in the marriage ceremonies. While chairing a meeting in this regard, Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal on Monday directed all the divisional commissioners to ensure strict implementation of restriction on one-dish and timings in marriage ceremonies.
The Chief Secretary said the violation of one-dish and timings fixed for wedding ceremonies would not be tolerated in any case. He asked the officers to take stern action against violators without any discrimination as per law. He mentioned that the ban on more than one dish in marriages is directly benefiting the common man and the purpose of this restriction is to discourage extravagance and promote simplicity.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the deaths of four schoolchildren in a traffic accident on a highway in Bahawalpur, the Punjab government has also decided not to allow the establishment of schools on the highways and main roads and issued instructions to all the divisional commissioners, Regional Police Officers (RPOs) and relevant departments in his regard.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Punjab Kamran Ali Afzal at the Civil Secretariat on Monday. The Inspector-General of Police Punjab, Additional IG Motorway Police, administrative secretaries of different departments including schools education, higher education, excise, commissioner Lahore Division, and officers concerned attended the meeting while divisional commissioners and RPOs participated through video link.
The Chief Secretary directed that signboards and cat’s eyes be installed near schools, hospitals, and parks located along highways and main roads. He said that schools would be bound to deploy four road crossing assistants under the supervision of a duty teacher at the time of opening and closure of schools. He asked the officers to carry out a survey of all private schools near highways and main roads to identify the high-risk educational institutions. He said that service roads and overhead bridges for pedestrians should be constructed wherever possible, besides making zebra crossings in front of all schools.
The Chief Secretary also directed the Secretary Excise to work out a policy regarding registration of new vehicles before their delivery. He said that fitness checks of light vehicles once a year and heavy vehicles twice a year would be made mandatory. He mentioned that driving without a license is a crime asking the police officers to launch a crackdown on violators. He further said that the Bahawalpur incident is very unfortunate and prevention of such accidents is a collective responsibility of all.
The meeting also considered a proposal to increase the penalty for driving without a license and to make it mandatory for two license-holder drivers to drive heavy vehicles on highways. IG Punjab Rao Sardar Ali Khan suggested conducting traffic awareness week in schools. He directed the police officers to depute traffic wardens outside educational institutions at the time of closure of schools.
The Commissioner Bahawalpur Division briefed the meeting that according to the preliminary survey, 52 schools are located near highways and main roads in Bahawalpur and out of which 16 schools are located near highways and 36 near main roads.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021