Heritage lost: After the fire, Empress Market shops nearly open for business

Fire department, shopkeepers, CDGK rule out arson.

KARACHI:

Nearly eighty per cent of the 100 shops that were burnt in an Empress Market fire on March 27 have been rebuilt. Forty-five of the shops were entirely gutted.

“I lost over a million rupees in the fire,” said Mohammad Asif, the owner of a masala shop who had been in the market for twenty years. “The reconstruction of my shop cost more money. However, I do not believe that the government will compensate me.”

Promises of compensation were made by officials and politicians who visited. A committee headed by Revenue EDO Roshan Ali Shaikh and Enterprise and Investment EDO Dr Saifur Rahman was set up to ascertain the cause of the fire, calculate the losses and start restoration work. The committee completed its inquiry but its findings have not been made public.

“Their promises were only for the media, not for us,” said Empress Market Union president Haji Liaquat while talking to The Express Tribune. “The authorities only came here for publicity, they did not have any concern with the people who lost their businesses.”

Shop owner Zulfiqar, who owned a plastics shop, told The Express Tribune that he waited for a week but when there was no response from the government, he decided to rebuild his shop himself. “If I had waited for the compensation I would have lost my business for an indefinite period,” he said.

Arson has been ruled out by the shopkeepers, who believe that the fire was accidental. “All the gates of the market are shut at night,” said Shafiq Ahmed, who runs a tea stall. “Not even a cat can enter, so how would it be possible for a human to set the market on fire?”

EDO Saifur Rehman, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that no criminals were suspected. An FIR was registered to help investigators but the most likely cause of the fire was short-circuiting or open wiring. The report also included suggestions to the authorities on how best to secure heritage sites with a proper security system, concealment of open wiring and the removal of encroachments.

Chief Fire Officer Ehtishamuddin Siddiqi, who was part of the inquiry team, said that all evidence pointed to an accidental fire. Loose electrical wiring and the ‘kunda’ system were the most likely culprits. As all the gates were locked at the time, the fire-fighting team had had hard time reaching the blaze.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2011.