HARIPUR: The officials of district administration and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly conducted checking of industrial units and sealed six pharmaceutical companies and marble processing units, official sources said here on Sunday.

According to the Additional Assistant Commissioner (AAC) II, Haripur, Faraz Qureshi, the joint team headed by him, inspected various industrial units in the city and at Hattar Industrial Estate.

During the inspection, the EPA officials found four pharmaceutical companies, registered as Novace Pharma, SPL Pharma, Welmark Pharma and KBR Pharma of Hattar industrial estate, in violation of environmental regulations and not having the NOC from the EPA-KP.

The additional assistant commissioner said the team also found that Bunir Marble and Noor Marble factories near Swat Chowk were also committing violation of the EPA’s regulations on environmental pollution.

The officials sealed all the six industrial units under section 7 (vii) of the KP-EPA 2014. The team also visited some other industrial units and issued summons to their owners for various violations.

KHULI KUTCHERY: Labour Department’s Deputy Director Faizullah Khan warned the industrialists and owners of private schools, hospitals and others establishments to ensure payment of minimum monthly wage of Rs37000 to their workers otherwise his department would prosecute the violators under the labour laws.

This warning was issued during a khuli kutchery for women workers held in Hattar Industrial Estate. Industrialists’ association chairman Malik Ashiq Awan, officials of labour department, district administration and women workers from different industrial units were in attendance on this occasion.

He told the participants that in line with directions from the provincial government, his department had started holding khuli kutcheries across the Hazara division to create awareness among the labourers and workers about their entitlement to minimum wages as per labour laws.

Mr Khan said that his department would ensure that every worker, whether male or female, was paid as per law and according to the policy of the KP government. He urged the industrial workers and labourers to point out the violators of labour laws so that the culprits could be taken to task.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024