A tragedy in the making

Action yet to be taken on deplorable condition of Royal Apartments in Sukkur

SUKKUR: With its paradoxical name, the condition of Royal Apartments, a four-storey commercial and residential building on Racecourse Road in Sukkur, speaks of the apathy of the authorities, which seem to be waiting for a tragedy to occur before springing into action.

The Royal Apartments complex has dozens of shops and 64 residential units but despite its dilapidated condition its residents are not ready to vacate it.



Recently, a large portion of the structure's roof collapsed with a huge explosion. The water tank constructed on the roof of the building has developed cracks and is now unusable, forcing residents to make private arrangements to store water. The boundary wall on the rooftop has also cracked and may crumble anytime which poses an even greater threat because the building is situated on a busy road. Despite all this, children can be seen playing in the corridors.

Ahsan Ansari, a resident of Royal Apartments, told The Express Tribune that this building was constructed 25 years ago and, since the building material used for its construction was subpar, seepage started everywhere, leading the rooftop tank to leak. "The leakage of the water tank continued for years and, despite repeated requests, neither the builder nor the apartment committee took any corrective measures," he said.

Finally, the residents decided to stop storing water in the overhead tank and made their own arrangements, he said. "As a result, almost all the residents have installed water tanks either on their floors or on the rooftop but no one cares about when the tanks overflow," added Ansari.



"It is very easy to blame the builder and the authorities but nobody is ready to take responsibility for the building's dilapidated state," said another resident, Mansoor Ali. He said the residents have spent thousands of rupees on installing water tanks and erecting pipelines but are not ready to install an overflow pipe, due to which water accumulates on the roof and floors of the building and causes considerable damage.

Blaming the apartment's management committee, he said it charges Rs250 per month from the residents but nobody knows where the money is going. "Out of the total 64 units, 50 units are occupied but there is not a single watchman," he told The Express Tribune. Ali is living in a rented unit and is looking for other accommodation before it's too late.

An official of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), requesting anonymity, said that notices had been issued to the residents of Royal Apartments in 2012, 2014 and 2015 but some of the residents instead took the issue to court.  He said that an SBCA team from Karachi had also visited the apartment and declared it dangerous, but they could not take action, because the matter is sub-judice.



"The only way for the SBCA to demolish the building is if the administration itself has it vacated," said SCBA's regional director Ayub Shah. However, he said that the matter was out of their hands as it was currently in court.

We have also written letters to the Sukkur commissioner and deputy commissioner, informing them about the apartment's poor condition, he claimed. However, Sukkur commissioner Abbas Baloch denied receiving any such letter.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2015.