This is the third major blaze reported this year in Orangi Town alone — the first was at a cloth godown in January and the second in a plastic warehouse in October. Neither of the previous two reported any loss of life either. However, a fire in a highly-populated residential area that can potentially burn down a whole market within minutes is like calling for trouble. Repetition of such incidents calls for stricter policies by the municipality to relocate furniture markets or godowns away from residential districts lest we lose innocent lives and endanger many others.
In developed nations across the world, rules and regulations call for locating factories or wood furniture markets outside of major cities. Even the world’s largest furniture retailer, IKEA, has stores located in sparsely-populated areas. In Pakistan, however, it is not just the wood furniture market in Orangi Town, but many others as well in the metropolis that are situated in highly-populated residential areas. From Nursery in Sharea Faisal to the Manzoor Colony furniture market in Qayyumabad, the markets are located in almost 100 metre radius of residential areas, making it practically impossible to evade complete risks to life in case of fire. The government, along with the owners of the warehouses, should devise a plan to minimise the risk by firstly, relocating the markets. It can then consider installing electric wiring and circuitry that provide protection against overloads and short-circuits.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2017.
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