‘Poor’ Response: Govt issued notice on plaza fire

LAHORE: Justice Shahid Karim Khan of Lahore High Court (LHC) issued notices on Thursday to the government, the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) and the DCO on a petition requesting action against those responsible for Monday’s fire at a plaza in Urdu Bazaar, and proper implementation of building bylaws. The judge asked the respondents to reply to the notices until January 22. He then referred the petition for further hearing to Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah who is already hearing a similar matter. Judicial Activism Panel chairman Azhar Siddique had filed the petition blaming the government for the death of 13 people in the plaza fire. He said the government had failed to implement the relevant building bylaws. He said the government should explain why it had failed to put out the fire early. A commission should be formed to fix the responsibility in this regard and recommend steps to deal with such situations, the petitioner said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2015.