Death trap: Demolition starts on shaky building in Gulshan-e-Iqbal
The structure was evacuated after it began to shake and developed cracks on Friday
Residents were forced to leave their belongings behind when the building was evacuated on Friday. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
The demolition of a shaky five-storey residential building in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 10-A started on Saturday. The building was vacated on Friday after cracks appeared on the walls.
The five-storey structure was built in 2010 on a 99-square-yard plot with permission from the Cantonment Board Faisal (CBF), admitted CBF spokesperson Mehboob Rashid.
Irked neighbours
On Thursday night, Waqas, who lives just in front of the building, heard loud vibrating sounds. "The sound was as if gravel was falling down," he said, adding that the next day he was asked to vacate his house by the neighbours.
Fragile structure: Shaky building evacuated for fear of collapse
Gulzar, another resident who lives adjacent to the building, said that he had to vacate his house and left most of his belongings inside. "I have moved my family to a relative's home," he said adding that they had a narrow escape. "Had the building fallen on our homes, we all would have been buried alive."
Perturbed residents
Just outside the apartment a tea set, along with Rexine sofas and cupboards lie haphazardly, amid which a Barbie doll sticks out. All this belonged to Masood*, who around two months back had bought a three-room flat for Rs5.1 million. "I used to live here along with my wife and two kids," he said in a low voice.
When the cracks started appearing in the walls, he claimed to have called the owner of the building who asked him to vacate the structure immediately. The owner, according to him, assured him that all his money would be returned if he did not talk to the media.
In the beginning
Initially, when the building was under construction, the Central Government Cooperative Housing Society wrote to the CBF about the improper construction work, claimed the housing society chief, Shahbaz Khan. The letter reads that the foundation is not strong enough for a high-rise building due to poor civil design work and usage of substandard material. The letter further states that the structure can endanger not only the lives of its occupants but will prove to be a lethal hazard for adjacent buildings. After the letter was written, Khan said that a structure engineering team of CBF did visit the site but then construction continued.
CBF spokesperson Rashid maintained, however, that ground plus-four construction is permitted in the area. "There are similar constructions on 100-square-yard plots in Defence," he reasoned, adding that their bylaws allowed them to approve such construction. He insisted that CBF's team kept inspecting the building during the course of construction.
Once the process of demolition is completed, a committee will look into the causes of the incident, he said.
No FIR filed against builder
Rashid said that to his knowledge no FIR has been lodged against the builder yet. Currently, he said that the focus was on the demolition of the building. Officials at the Sharae Faisal police station confirmed that no FIR has been filed.
A CBF official at the site told The Express Tribune that they were demolishing the building manually. First they demolished the gallery and then removed the residents' belongings, he explained. "Now we will demolish floor wise, so that the load on the pillar reduces," he said.
According to Dr Noman Ahmed, the chairperson of the department of architecture and planning at NED University, it is not feasible to construct ground-plus-two structures on less than 120-square-yard plots. He said that the CBF was very flexible in providing approval to constructions. Half of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, which he said falls under CBF's jurisdiction, has very relaxed building bylaws. "The regulatory provisions of high-rise buildings have been negated there," he claimed.
*Name changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2015.
The demolition of a shaky five-storey residential building in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 10-A started on Saturday. The building was vacated on Friday after cracks appeared on the walls.
The five-storey structure was built in 2010 on a 99-square-yard plot with permission from the Cantonment Board Faisal (CBF), admitted CBF spokesperson Mehboob Rashid.
Irked neighbours
On Thursday night, Waqas, who lives just in front of the building, heard loud vibrating sounds. "The sound was as if gravel was falling down," he said, adding that the next day he was asked to vacate his house by the neighbours.
Fragile structure: Shaky building evacuated for fear of collapse
Gulzar, another resident who lives adjacent to the building, said that he had to vacate his house and left most of his belongings inside. "I have moved my family to a relative's home," he said adding that they had a narrow escape. "Had the building fallen on our homes, we all would have been buried alive."
Perturbed residents
Just outside the apartment a tea set, along with Rexine sofas and cupboards lie haphazardly, amid which a Barbie doll sticks out. All this belonged to Masood*, who around two months back had bought a three-room flat for Rs5.1 million. "I used to live here along with my wife and two kids," he said in a low voice.
When the cracks started appearing in the walls, he claimed to have called the owner of the building who asked him to vacate the structure immediately. The owner, according to him, assured him that all his money would be returned if he did not talk to the media.
In the beginning
Initially, when the building was under construction, the Central Government Cooperative Housing Society wrote to the CBF about the improper construction work, claimed the housing society chief, Shahbaz Khan. The letter reads that the foundation is not strong enough for a high-rise building due to poor civil design work and usage of substandard material. The letter further states that the structure can endanger not only the lives of its occupants but will prove to be a lethal hazard for adjacent buildings. After the letter was written, Khan said that a structure engineering team of CBF did visit the site but then construction continued.
CBF spokesperson Rashid maintained, however, that ground plus-four construction is permitted in the area. "There are similar constructions on 100-square-yard plots in Defence," he reasoned, adding that their bylaws allowed them to approve such construction. He insisted that CBF's team kept inspecting the building during the course of construction.
Once the process of demolition is completed, a committee will look into the causes of the incident, he said.
No FIR filed against builder
Rashid said that to his knowledge no FIR has been lodged against the builder yet. Currently, he said that the focus was on the demolition of the building. Officials at the Sharae Faisal police station confirmed that no FIR has been filed.
A CBF official at the site told The Express Tribune that they were demolishing the building manually. First they demolished the gallery and then removed the residents' belongings, he explained. "Now we will demolish floor wise, so that the load on the pillar reduces," he said.
According to Dr Noman Ahmed, the chairperson of the department of architecture and planning at NED University, it is not feasible to construct ground-plus-two structures on less than 120-square-yard plots. He said that the CBF was very flexible in providing approval to constructions. Half of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, which he said falls under CBF's jurisdiction, has very relaxed building bylaws. "The regulatory provisions of high-rise buildings have been negated there," he claimed.
*Name changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, December 20th, 2015.