700 workers left jobless after Landhi fire

Fire at denim factory in Karachi extinguished on Saturday after 24 hours

KARACHI: The police have vowed to register a case to ascertain the actual cause of the fire at a denim factory in Landhi on Friday has left nearly 700 factory workers without a job.

Though no lives were lost in the fire, the financial losses incurred are massive. The factory owner has lost millions of rupees while nearly 700 labourers who worked at the factory in two shifts have been left without jobs. "The fire not only affected the factory but also affected us," said a daily wage worker, Muhammad Kamran, who works for Rs1,000 per day.

He was recently hired at the factory after being unemployed for over three months. "I was already facing financial problems. The fire made me jobless once again."



Every second labourer has a similar story. "No one is here to give us employment to help us run our homes," said another labourer, Kashif Ali. "Hundreds of factories are here. But no one cares about us.

The owner does not have that many problems as he has other businesses but we have no more jobs," he lamented. The jobless workers demanded the government help resolve their problems by arranging employment for them.

Police investigation

"An FIR will definitely be registered," said Shah Latif DSP Qamar Ahmed, adding that the police have asked the factory owner to register a case so that a proper investigation can be carried out.



The factory administration had initially told the police that the fire was caused by short-circuit.

"The owner said he has never received any demands of extortion or any kind of threats," said the officer. The owner will be held responsible even if the fire erupted due to short-circuit, he said, adding that the police were waiting for the complainant otherwise the police would register a case on behalf of the state.