KARACHI(National Times)- Sindh senior minister Sharjeel Inam Memon on Tuesday said it was not possible for the government to provide housing to all residents of fragile buildings across the province, citing limited resources and the scale of the problem. Speaking on Geo News‘ morning programme “Geo Pakistan”, Memon stated that there were 740 buildings in Sindh declared unsafe, of which 51 are extremely dangerous. He said that 11 of those extremely hazardous structures had been vacated so far. Memon explained that while it was not feasible to house all occupants, the government could offer temporary accommodation to some families within available resources, as it had done previously for flood victims and Covid-19 patients. He added that the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) had begun demolition of uninhabitable structures surrounding the five-storey building that collapsed in Lyari’s Baghdadi neighbourhood.
Inquiry launched into Lyari tragedy
The Sindh government formed a five-member inquiry committee to investigate the Lyari building collapse, which claimed at least 27 lives. According to an official notification issued on Tuesday, Karachi Commissioner Hassan Naqvi was appointed as the committee’s chairman. The Special Secretary of the Local Government Department and a Deputy Director of the SBCA were also included. The committee was assigned to determine the cause of the collapse, identify those responsible, and recommend preventive measures. The notification stated that the committee will submit its report within 48 hours.
ABAD criticises inquiry committee
The Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) rejected the formation of the inquiry committee, calling it insufficient and lacking credibility. ABAD Chairman Hassan Bakshi questioned how the truth could emerge if officials from the same institutions were tasked with conducting the investigation. He said the chief minister should have led the committee himself. Bakshi described the Rs1 million compensation for victims as too little and questioned why the Sindh government could not offer housing subsidies like Punjab’s Maryam Nawaz. Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said on Monday that the committee probing the Lyari building collapse had also been instructed to prepare a report on 51 other dangerously dilapidated buildings in Karachi. He said the government would begin demolishing those structures after conducting a detailed survey. His comments came after the completion of a nearly three-day search and rescue operation at the Lyari collapse site, where at least 27 people lost their lives.
