LAHORE - Provincial Labour and Auqaf Minister Syed Ehsaan-ud-Din Qureshi has directed the officials of labour welfare department to adopt measures to prevent and combat bonded labour as well as to protect bonded labourers and their families. He said that Punjab government was implementing various projects for providing modern education to the children of labourers and residential facilities to them. He said that a labour colony consisting of 1296 houses at a cost of Rs 2,177 million was being constructed for workers on Defence Road Lahore and its 70 percent construction work had been completed. During a departmental briefing, Qureshi said that all basic and modern residential facilities would be available to the workers in Labour Colony and Workers Welfare Schools would be set up for the children of workers. He said that free education including books, stationery, transport and uniform were also being provided to 28,000 children of workers in 46 workers welfare schools of the province. He further said Welfare Board was bearing all educational expenses of the children of workers in those six districts of the Punjab where workers welfare schools are not existed. He said second shift was also continuing in seven workers welfare schools.