Shah Alam Market fire: Committee recommends demolition of seven plazas

Seven other plazas to be repaired but estimate of losses yet to come.

LAHORE: The city government has estimated that it will cost Rs5,357,000 to repair or demolish 14 buildings that were damaged in the Shah Alam Market fire earlier this month.

The committee set up by the city government to estimate the losses from the fire decided that seven of these plazas should be demolished as they were dangerous while the other seven could be repaired. A report in this regard was sent to the Punjab government on Monday.

Ravi Town Municipal Officer Ahmad Kamal said that the Punjab government would have to lift a two-year-old ban on the demolition of buildings in the Walled City so the seven dangerous plazas could be torn down.

He said there were 260 buildings in the Walled City that were classified as dangerous.

The committee has not yet estimated the economic loss from the total destruction of five other plazas in the fire. The businesses in those plazas have already claimed losses of Rs1.14 billion.

Rana Nisar, the owner of Bahria Plaza, where the Shah Alam Market fire originated, told The Express Tribune that the business community awaited the committee’s estimate of losses in the five plazas that were completely wiped out. These buildings had 80 shops and 80 warehouses with 125 separate owners employing more than 3,000 people. “We are all waiting for compensation,” Nisar said. “It has been a couple of weeks and some of us are getting anxious.”

He said that the businesses did not expect to be compensated fully, but did expect a “reasonable” amount that would allow them to restart their businesses. “If the compensation offered is less than our lowest expectations we will be left with no choice but to start protesting and holding huger strikes. The ball is in the government’s court,” he said.

Nisar said that a major problem for the businesses right now was that they were being pestered by creditors for their money, though they had lost the ledgers showing their debits and credits. “Those that took material from us on credit are not responding,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2011.