Plaza collapse: White paper issued against plaza owners
Leaders of the multi-party conference issue a white paper against the “builder mafia” and owners of Sajjad Plaza.
SUKKUR:
Leaders of the multi-party conference issued a white paper against the “builder mafia” and owners of Sajjad Plaza on Saturday to apprise people and the government of their “illegal activities”.
Multi-party leaders including Small Traders, Sukkur, additional secretary Baharuddin Shaikh, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Sukkur, secretary Musharraf Mehmood, Tanzeem-e-Pakistan president Saeed Awan, Mehboob Sahito of Sunni Tehreek and others have established a protest camp near the site of the plaza, which collapsed on December 25, 2008, killing seven people and injuring 14 others.
“Over the last 20 years, the builder mafia has been illegally occupying precious amenity plots, belonging to the municipal administration, Pakistan Railways and the Evacuee Trust Property Board and have been making huge profits by constructing high-rise commercial and residential plazas,” the leaders alleged.
According to the white paper, two years ago, the five-storey residential complex collapsed, killing seven people. The builder and owner of the plaza went underground. The builders started pressuring the affectees against registering an FIR and forced them to reconcile, they said.
However, on behalf of the Sukkur small traders and other social parties, the B section police registered an FIR against the plaza’s builder and owner on January 3, 2009. The co-owner of the plaza, Saadia Sajjad, who in her capacity as the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) chairperson along with the builder, Aziz Memon, constructed the commercial and residential plaza on APWA’s plot and sold it, the white paper added.
It was at the residence of Senator Islamuddin Shaikh that affectees were given compensation cheques.
The white paper said that the inquiry report was received through the provincial ombudsman, according to whom the responsibility of the mishap lay with the accumulation of sewage in the plinth of the plaza, the use of sub-standard material and a violation of building bylaws.
According to the white paper, the inquiry report said that the taluka municipal administration (TMA) neither has a qualified engineer who can examine construction sites, nor does it have the authority to approve building plans.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2010.
Leaders of the multi-party conference issued a white paper against the “builder mafia” and owners of Sajjad Plaza on Saturday to apprise people and the government of their “illegal activities”.
Multi-party leaders including Small Traders, Sukkur, additional secretary Baharuddin Shaikh, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Sukkur, secretary Musharraf Mehmood, Tanzeem-e-Pakistan president Saeed Awan, Mehboob Sahito of Sunni Tehreek and others have established a protest camp near the site of the plaza, which collapsed on December 25, 2008, killing seven people and injuring 14 others.
“Over the last 20 years, the builder mafia has been illegally occupying precious amenity plots, belonging to the municipal administration, Pakistan Railways and the Evacuee Trust Property Board and have been making huge profits by constructing high-rise commercial and residential plazas,” the leaders alleged.
According to the white paper, two years ago, the five-storey residential complex collapsed, killing seven people. The builder and owner of the plaza went underground. The builders started pressuring the affectees against registering an FIR and forced them to reconcile, they said.
However, on behalf of the Sukkur small traders and other social parties, the B section police registered an FIR against the plaza’s builder and owner on January 3, 2009. The co-owner of the plaza, Saadia Sajjad, who in her capacity as the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) chairperson along with the builder, Aziz Memon, constructed the commercial and residential plaza on APWA’s plot and sold it, the white paper added.
It was at the residence of Senator Islamuddin Shaikh that affectees were given compensation cheques.
The white paper said that the inquiry report was received through the provincial ombudsman, according to whom the responsibility of the mishap lay with the accumulation of sewage in the plinth of the plaza, the use of sub-standard material and a violation of building bylaws.
According to the white paper, the inquiry report said that the taluka municipal administration (TMA) neither has a qualified engineer who can examine construction sites, nor does it have the authority to approve building plans.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2010.