GUJRANWALA, April 8: A Wasa contractor and other government officials were held responsible for using substandard material in the sewerage construction after a survey by Minister for the Punjab Chief Minister’s Inspection Team Col Shuja Khanzada here on Saturday.

The CMIT minister also recommended to stop payment to the contractor besides stern action against him and other officials.

The Punjab chief minister had approved two sewerage schemes at a cost of Rs228.37 million for Gujranwala and nearby localities.

The Wasa contractor had reportedly used substandard material in the construction work which led to its collapse at an initial stage and the sewerage water entered the house of a citizen.

MNA Imranullah Chaudhry and MPA Engineer Ashraf Butt informed the chief minister about it who directed the CMIT minister to probe into the matter.

The report with recommendations was forwarded to the Punjab chief minister.

kiln workers: A Lahore High Court bailiff on Saturday raided a brick kiln at Ghakkhar Town and recovered over 20 labourers, including women and children, who were detained there.

The kiln owner managed to escape.

Reports said Nazir of Pindi Bhattian and his relatives had been working at Chaudhry Aslam Cheema’s kiln on Kot Noora Road for the last many years. The owner was not paying them wages regularly. Instead he had detained them, threatening them with dire consequences.

Their heirs moved the LHC on which Justice Syed Sakhi Husain Bukhari appointed Ehsanul Haq as bailiff to recover the detainees.