Inquiry finds TMA, builder, and architect responsible
An inquiry report into a building collapse has been made public after being ‘buried’ since it was issued on July 13.
SUKKUR:
An inquiry report into a building collapse has just been made public after being ‘buried’ since it was issued on July 13.
Two years ago, Sajjad Plaza that was constructed on Hussain Road in Gharibabad, collapsed on December 24, 2008, killing seven people and injuring 14 others. The inquiry names five people responsible for faulty construction.
The inquiry committee was set up on the orders of local government minister Agha Siraj Durrani. It was headed by Karachi Building Control Authority convener and controller Manzoor Qadir, who, with the help of architect Nisar Ahmed and engineers Muhammad Shafiq, Arif Qasim, Mustajab, Muhammad Arif and Hasan Habib, submitted a 167-page report to the government.
The report, which was issued with Sindh Housing and Town Planning local government section officer Syed Nazar Muhammad Shah’s signature, held three officials of the Taluka Municipal Administration (TMA), along with the architect and the builder, responsible for the faulty construction of the building.A mosque and school were also damaged when the structure fell.
It stated that that Mian Sajjad Ahmed, the owner of Sajjad Plaza, had submitted to the TMA the blueprints of a two-storey building with a basement. They were approved by the administration. Two years later, Ahmed proposed the construction of three more storeys, which were also approved. He then went on to construct a sixth storey, without the permission of the administration.
It was also stated that the engineering and the supervision of the plaza’s construction was assigned to an unqualified firm, which used low-quality materials in the construction. Moreover, three TMA officers turned a blind eye to the construction process, despite the warnings of a neighbour, Rasheed Ahmed. He pointed out that the building had starting leaning to one side due to the use of sub-standard material, after which, instead of addressing the problem, the builder added a seven-foot-long gallery to the structure.
The TMA did not check the quality of material used in the construction, informed the report. It was also stated that the authorities also ignored issues regarding space allocation and the sub-standard sewerage system.
According to the report, between 2004 and 2008, the TMA granted permission to 290 people to construct buildings without employing proper engineers to measure plots or check the quality of material being used in the construction of these structures.
Although the report held the TMA officials responsible for the collapse of the Sajjad Plaza, it did not suggest any punishment for the culprits who were responsible for the deaths of seven people.
Furthermore, it is believed that the culprits appealed to “influential people” to help them stop the report from being made public and have the case dismissed.
However, the report was issued Thursday after Sukkur Small Traders additional secretary Baharuddin Shaikh, among others, wrote letters to the government, demanding that the information of the report be made public.
Building laws are violated in the construction of dozens of buildings across the district, said Shaikh, who added that “certain officials” had been responsible for shelving the report on the faulty construction of the Sajjad Plaza.
“We have decided to reopen a case that was registered in the B section police station on January 3, 2009. We will then go to court to have the culprits punished so that such incidents can be avoided in the future,” Shaikh said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2010.
An inquiry report into a building collapse has just been made public after being ‘buried’ since it was issued on July 13.
Two years ago, Sajjad Plaza that was constructed on Hussain Road in Gharibabad, collapsed on December 24, 2008, killing seven people and injuring 14 others. The inquiry names five people responsible for faulty construction.
The inquiry committee was set up on the orders of local government minister Agha Siraj Durrani. It was headed by Karachi Building Control Authority convener and controller Manzoor Qadir, who, with the help of architect Nisar Ahmed and engineers Muhammad Shafiq, Arif Qasim, Mustajab, Muhammad Arif and Hasan Habib, submitted a 167-page report to the government.
The report, which was issued with Sindh Housing and Town Planning local government section officer Syed Nazar Muhammad Shah’s signature, held three officials of the Taluka Municipal Administration (TMA), along with the architect and the builder, responsible for the faulty construction of the building.A mosque and school were also damaged when the structure fell.
It stated that that Mian Sajjad Ahmed, the owner of Sajjad Plaza, had submitted to the TMA the blueprints of a two-storey building with a basement. They were approved by the administration. Two years later, Ahmed proposed the construction of three more storeys, which were also approved. He then went on to construct a sixth storey, without the permission of the administration.
It was also stated that the engineering and the supervision of the plaza’s construction was assigned to an unqualified firm, which used low-quality materials in the construction. Moreover, three TMA officers turned a blind eye to the construction process, despite the warnings of a neighbour, Rasheed Ahmed. He pointed out that the building had starting leaning to one side due to the use of sub-standard material, after which, instead of addressing the problem, the builder added a seven-foot-long gallery to the structure.
The TMA did not check the quality of material used in the construction, informed the report. It was also stated that the authorities also ignored issues regarding space allocation and the sub-standard sewerage system.
According to the report, between 2004 and 2008, the TMA granted permission to 290 people to construct buildings without employing proper engineers to measure plots or check the quality of material being used in the construction of these structures.
Although the report held the TMA officials responsible for the collapse of the Sajjad Plaza, it did not suggest any punishment for the culprits who were responsible for the deaths of seven people.
Furthermore, it is believed that the culprits appealed to “influential people” to help them stop the report from being made public and have the case dismissed.
However, the report was issued Thursday after Sukkur Small Traders additional secretary Baharuddin Shaikh, among others, wrote letters to the government, demanding that the information of the report be made public.
Building laws are violated in the construction of dozens of buildings across the district, said Shaikh, who added that “certain officials” had been responsible for shelving the report on the faulty construction of the Sajjad Plaza.
“We have decided to reopen a case that was registered in the B section police station on January 3, 2009. We will then go to court to have the culprits punished so that such incidents can be avoided in the future,” Shaikh said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2010.