SIALKOT, May 31: The Social Security department will launch a vigorous campaign to recover Rs17.5 million arrears from local industrialists and exporters who had been avoiding their liabilities for the last several years.

Social Security Director Muhammad Ameen disclosed this at a meeting of District Labour and Human Resource Board, presided over by District Nazim Muhammad Akmal Cheema here on Wednesday. The meeting was also attended by DCO Rizwan Ullah Baig, DO (Coordination) Aamir Ejaz Akbar and local labour leaders.

Mr Amin said as the defaulting industrialists and exporters were very influential, they had not been paying the social security funds, used by the department for the welfare of workers and labourers, for many years.

He said despite receiving departmental notices, the defaulters were reluctant to pay the arrears.

He said the department would also involve the local trader bodies and the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the recovery campaign.

Mr Cheema, speaking on the occasion, expressed grave concern over the non-payment of the funds by the industrialists and exporters and directed the department to ensure early recovery of arrears as the final notices had already been served to the defaulters.

faint: Dozens of people, including school children, fainted owing to long hours of power suspension in different parts of the district with temperature soaring to 48.3 degree Celsius on Wednesday.

In Sialkot, minor students, including Bisma, Khalid, Aqib, Suleman, Shakeel and Rabia, fell unconscious in their private schools.

The power supply remained suspended for six hours in Daska from 8am to 2pm. Consequently, three people — Zahid, Allah Rakha, Bashiran Bibi and several minor children, including Shazia, Farah, Hassam, Nasir, Fiaz and Luqman, fainted.

They were admitted to local hospitals where the condition of some children was stated to be serious.

A large number of birds and dozens of the cattle also died due to sizzling heat in villages along the working boundary.

Talking to journalists, Markazi Anjuman Tajran president Mehar Ghulam Mujtaba and secretary-general Ehsanul Haq Butt expressed grave concern over outages of long duration.

They said the prolonged power suspension had badly hampered trade and business activities as most of markets, factories, financial institutions and industrial units remained closed in the district.

They said the Gepco had made lives of the people miserable as the electricity supply remained suspended for several hours daily during day and night in the district.

Gepco officials said the outage was only the result of overloading of power consumption while the Gepco was also busy in repairing work.

Gastro: Gastroenteritis patients are being treated at various government and private health facilities in Sialkot and neighbouring areas.

Several patients were released after treatment and the doctors said the situation was under control.