The Lahore High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the city district government, among others, for May 30 on a petition seeking a judicial inquiry into the Gujrat school van fire in which 17 people lost their lives.
According to the driver, the vehicle caught fire when he switched from gas to petrol. Advocate Shahid Ikram Siddiqui has filed the petition and blamed the government’s inaction when it comes to
sub-standard cylinders for such incidents.
Dozens of people have lost their lives in similar incidents last year as well, he says.
The lawyer said that defective cylinders and unsafe alterations in the mechanical systems of the vehicles were responsible for such explosions.
He said that the government departments concerned were guilty of negligence because they were not performing their duties in accordance with the law.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013.