Shah Alam Market fire: Damage of over half a billion rupees feared
Traders threaten to withhold tax if not compensated by government.
LAHORE:
Friday’s fire at Shah Alam Market did damage worth over Rs500 million and gutted over 90 shops, according to the market’s traders’ union.
Fire fighters, who battled the flames for around nine hours until midnight, said that they had averted even more losses by containing the fire in the main plaza. They said that four people received minor burn injuries trying to remove valuables from their shops.
Local traders said the government should have formed committees to assess the losses and to examine the structural integrity of the building by now.
Shah Alam Market traders’ association vice president Kamran Butt said that over 90 shops had been damaged and the losses were over half a billion rupees. He said that the Data Centre and Japan Centre plazas, which were linked to Al Fazal Centre, were also partially damaged. He said that MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique had commiserated with the traders.
General secretary Shahid Bilal said that the traders would not file tax returns if they were not compensated for the losses by the government. He said that the government should refund the excise duties paid against the receipts for the goods they had imported.
“We will not bend in front of the government this time around. We will not accept a committee formed to fool the traders,” he said.
A fire fighting official of Rescue 1122 said that the building must be examined for structural integrity as it had been on fire for more than nine hours. He said he had seen the roof of one corner shop collapse but it was a minor collapse and not enough to endanger the plaza.
District Coordination Officer Ahmad Cheema told The Express Tribune that no committee had yet been yet been formed. He said that the building was currently inaccessible due to the high temperature but a team to assess its integrity would be formed soon. He said that they had not received any demand from the traders’ union.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2011.
Friday’s fire at Shah Alam Market did damage worth over Rs500 million and gutted over 90 shops, according to the market’s traders’ union.
Fire fighters, who battled the flames for around nine hours until midnight, said that they had averted even more losses by containing the fire in the main plaza. They said that four people received minor burn injuries trying to remove valuables from their shops.
Local traders said the government should have formed committees to assess the losses and to examine the structural integrity of the building by now.
Shah Alam Market traders’ association vice president Kamran Butt said that over 90 shops had been damaged and the losses were over half a billion rupees. He said that the Data Centre and Japan Centre plazas, which were linked to Al Fazal Centre, were also partially damaged. He said that MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique had commiserated with the traders.
General secretary Shahid Bilal said that the traders would not file tax returns if they were not compensated for the losses by the government. He said that the government should refund the excise duties paid against the receipts for the goods they had imported.
“We will not bend in front of the government this time around. We will not accept a committee formed to fool the traders,” he said.
A fire fighting official of Rescue 1122 said that the building must be examined for structural integrity as it had been on fire for more than nine hours. He said he had seen the roof of one corner shop collapse but it was a minor collapse and not enough to endanger the plaza.
District Coordination Officer Ahmad Cheema told The Express Tribune that no committee had yet been yet been formed. He said that the building was currently inaccessible due to the high temperature but a team to assess its integrity would be formed soon. He said that they had not received any demand from the traders’ union.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2011.