LAHORE, July 15: The Punjab Workers Welfare Board will develop at least 20 new labour colonies and an equal number of schools for workers’ children in the province.

Board secretary Sohail Masood told Dawn that new labour colonies and schools were to be developed under a directive issued to the board by the Punjab labour minister recently for developing a labour colony and a school for workers’ children in every district of the province.

He said the board had already developed 19 labour colonies with 22 schools in 14 districts. Many more colonies were being developed. There were six colonies in Faisalabad, three in Sheikhupura, two in Lahore, two in Toba Tek Singh and one each in Kamalia, Multan, Sahiwal, Jhelum, Vehari, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhang, Vehari and Sargodha.

The secretary said there were 24,954 three-marla plots, 1,271 houses and 481 flats in the labour colonies. Five thousand plots in colonies in different districts and flats in the colony in Gujrat awaited disposal, he said.

He said all the industrial workers employed in industrial units registered with the WWB and drawing salaries up to Rs5,000 per month were eligible for allotment of plots and flats in their respective districts.

He said the Tripartite Workers Welfare Board, at a meeting held in Islamabad with the federal labour secretary in chair, had accorded formal approval for the construction of 260 houses in the Rahimyar Khan labour colony, 870 in the Sher-i-Bangal Colony Phase-II in Sheikhupura, two high schools in Rahimyar Khan, as many in Joharabad and a model school in Bahawalpur for providing free education to workers’ children.

He said two schools were proposed to be built in Muzaffargarh, a cadet school in Leiah, a primary school for girls in Nishtar Colony, Lahore, and a girls school in Mian Channu under a directive of the governor.

He said private security agencies were being entrusted watch and ward duties at two labour colonies in Faisalabad besides colonies in Sargodha, Gujrat and Sheikhupura. The decision had been taken following the theft of tubewells, poles, wire and transformers in Faisalabad colonies.