Superstore owners booked for manslaughter

SBCA officer says owner misused parking lot as warehouse where fire erupted causing death of a person

KARACHI:

Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has filed case of manslaughter and fraud against the superstore owners and their sons who had turned the basement, originally meant for parking, into a warehouse.

Adeel Iqbal, his brothers Faraz Iqbal and Fahad Iqbal and their sons have been nominated in the FIR filed at the Ferozabad police station at the behest of SBCA officer Niaz Hussain Leghari under Sections 322 and 420. However, no one has been arrested so far in this regard.

According to the text of the lawsuit filed by Niaz Hussain Leghari, "A fire broke out at 11:30am on June 1, in which one person died of suffocation, and several others were affected. The building's basement was designed to accommodate vehicle parking. It was being used as a warehouse by the store's management."

It should be noted that Wasi Uddin, a young man who had started his first day of work, died of suffocation in the Chase Up store fire. Faizan, his older brother, told the media outside the Edhi morgue that, "He will file a lawsuit against the store management."

Burnt apartment building residents fear losing homes

Residents of the Bridge View Apartments, where fire erupted in the warehouse of a departmental store, have expressed fears that they too will be thrown out on the street like residents of Nasla Tower.

Wrongful extension of a few yards by the builder caused Nasla Tower residents to lose their life-savings, and now the unauthorised use of parking area in basement as a warehouse by superstore owner could cause us to lose our homes, said an official of the union of the apartment block.

Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Director General Ishaq Khoro after inspecting the plaza declared it dangerous and said that intense heat from the fire had damaged the building's foundations.

Steel bars used in the foundation and pillars of the reinforced cement concrete (RCC) construction expanded on becoming extremely hot and cracked the pillars and beams besides the foundations, he explained.

Khoro said, "if the building's columns are affected, it would have to be demolished."

However, he added, it is too soon to make a judgement, "let the smoke clear, then we can make a precise calculation of the damage to the pillars, beams and columns."

There are 174 apartments, all of which are inhabited. When the fire is controlled, our experts will inspect the building and determine whether it is livable or not. A great catastrophe might occur if the building sustains any damage. As per sources, a builder had unlawfully utilised a few yards in Nasla Tower, which evicted 44 people.

The building has 174 apartments on 18 floors with more than Rs. 5 billion. According to the people, "The apartments in the building are valued at between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The residents' life savings are at stake due to the department store's profiteering and avarice."

Residents claimed that they couldn't clear their belongings from their homes following the fire and that most families vacated the house wearing just their clothing. Many residents haven't found an alternative place. The affected families' spent the night in a temporary camp under the overhead bridge in front of the apartment without food and water.

Building residents told the Express that they repeatedly filed written complaints with the relevant agencies against the department store. They also contacted the builder and demanded that the store and warehouse be removed. However, store owners used their influence, and the residents' request was dismissed.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2022.