Around 549 dilapidated buildings are live death traps for hundreds of people living in them and most of the structures are so shabby to cave in at any time causing innumerable casualties during the pre-monsoon season which entered into third day on Sunday.
Lahore District Coordination Officer (DCO) Ahad Cheema announced to demolish the decaying structures to save lives and ordered all departments concerned and TMOs to serve eviction notices to inmates. He also directed officials to maintain records of all receiving receipts, as evidence that letters were issued to dwellers. “Every year, it is a stereotyped practice to issue notices to inmates of worn-out buildings. But poor residents, due to their cash-starved situation, never shift to safer places that results in many deaths after collapse of building structures during monsoon,” a DCO office official said. He said that although, the pre-monsoon season had descended with all its might but neither a strategy could be evolved to flatten the buildings nor notices had been issued to all ill-fated people. Last year, the official said, around 11 deaths were reported in a single day after a ferocious rain-cum-windstorm.
According to sources, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) identified around 549 buildings as dangerous and unfit for residential purposes. “Out of these 549 buildings, 80 are most dangerous buildings, which could cause huge loss to human lives at any time,” CDGL officials claimed. Giving further breakup of the 549 dangerous buildings, a senior Ravi Town official said that 87 buildings were located in areas of Taxali Gate, Tehsil Bazaar, Saaid Mitha Bazaar and Bhaati Gate. He said that 56 buildings were located in Mohalla Chomala, Mohalla Put Rangan, Mohalla Jalwatian and Mori Gate. He said that 60 buildings were located in Kucha Qadri, Langa Mandi, Kotli Kewran and Gumti Bazaar, sources revealed.
A senior official said that 80 dangerous structures were located in Kucha Elahi Bakhsh, Kucha Chiri Maran, Mori Gage Bazaar, Lohari Gate Bazaar, Kucha Ghosia etc. He said that 45 buildings were situated in Haveli Pathran Wali and Mochi Gate while 94 dangerous buildings were located in Mohalla Kakay Zayian, Bazaar Tezabian, Chowk Chuna Mandi, Kashmiri Bazaar, Azam Cloth Market and Sheranwala Gate. The official said that 49 dilapidated structures were at Yaki Gate and Delhi Gate while 40 such buildings were situated at Akbari Mandi and Delhi Gate Bazaar. He said that 38 dangerous buildings were located in Kucha Loharan, Kucha Qazi Khana, Rang Mahal and Kucha Kuli Khana. Babu Shah.
An official at the DO (Building) Office said that high risk to life notwithstanding, most of these buildings had not been vacated so far due to poor financial backgrounds of the occupants who were hoping against hope that the CDGL would one day come to their rescue by providing them alternative shelter. PSO to the DCO, Tariq Zaman said that the CDGL had been serving red notices to occupants but people refused to vacate those buildings due to various reasons. He said that owners of old buildings did not spend enough money on the repair and maintenance. The main reason behind this was that most occupants lived there on a rent basis. Owners of buildings, he added, were also not paying attention to this precarious situation mainly wanting the occupants to run away in fear and later they (owners) could use these buildings for commercial purposes.
Jabbar Mehmood, a resident of a dangerous building inside Delhi Gate, said that he had been living in the building for the past 15 years. He said that he was a painter and earned around Rs 8,000 per month. Jabber said that rent of the house was Rs 1,800 and if he moved somewhere else, he would have to pay advance payment as well as more rent, which he could not afford. “I know the building is dangerous and can collapse anytime claiming lives of my family but I do not have enough money to shift from here. If the government wants me to shift, it should provide me with an alternative”, Mehmood, an occupant of an old building in Mochi Gate, said.
A Shalimar Town official said that officials did not only warn residents to evacuate worn-out buildings but also tried to convince them of severe losses if a building collapsed due to rain. He said that the town administrations were not empowered to provide substitutes to the people and their inability to help the public might take precious lives. A CDGL official said that the government could lodge an FIR against those ignoring its warnings or slap a fine up to Rs 15,000, along with three years imprisonment. A building department official said that some people were penalised and fined by a CDGL magistrate but still a number of residents were sticking to their guns and refusing to leave.