May 4, 2005	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1426

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LAHORE, May 3: Punjab Minister for Agricultural Marketing Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon visited the site of Iqbal Town building collapse and ordered dissolution of the market committee. He directed the special secretary, Agricultural Marketing, to also suspend entire market committee, including chairman Malik Asghar Ali, former secretary Naeem Iftikhar Cheema and sitting secretary Arshad Shah, besides extra-assistant director, economics and marketing, Lahore, Sheikh Aslam Sultan.

He also ordered closure of all illegal shops/business other than agricultural produce situated in the agricultural markets of the Punjab and shift them outside the markets.

The minister also directed the construction of boundary walls around grain, fruit and vegetable markets to control malpractices and illegal businesses and to observe all safety measures.

NAZIM: District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood also ordered action against officials of the Allama Iqbal Town market committee for negligence resulting in the gas cylinder blasts.

He also constituted a committee, headed by Executive District Officer (Works) Chaudhry Muhammad Arif and consisting of DO (Revenue) Malik Muhammad Bakhsh and DDO (city) Mr. Mudassar to hold an inquiry into the incident and violations of the buildings bylaws and submit its report within three days.

The nazim directed all SHOs in the city district to identify the people engaged in the business of filling of gas cylinders and manufacture of fireworks for crackdown.