If the tragic collapse of five-storey residential building in Baghdadi, Lyari early Thursday morning is anything to go by, several questions arise on disaster management and the apathy of the government, which has failed to relocate inhabitants of 160 buildings officially declared ‘dangerous’ by the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA).
SBCA records reveal that out of the total 160 ‘most dangerous’ buildings, 129 buildings are situated in Saddar and its surrounding areas alone with the remaining in Lyari, Malir and a few in Korangi, Liaquatabad, Keamari and Nazimabad.
In the Saddar town, such buildings are concentrated in the Old Town Quarters, Wadhomal Odharam Quarters, Market Quarter and Ranchore Line areas. Majority of these buildings are residential and thickly populated.
Experts are of the view that in case a mild earthquake strikes the city, huge losses are expected. But the government authorities have never bothered to take practical steps to vacate these buildings and relocate the residents of these buildings to safer abodes.
According to an SBCA official, usually the building control officials inspect these buildings every alternate year and a notice is erected at the building if it is declared unsafe. The people may continue living inside on their own risk and passer-by are informed to keep 25 metres away, as the building may collapse any time.
During the past few years, the official list of ‘dangerous’ buildings has remained almost the same with these 160 deteriorating buildings featuring in it, but no practical steps have been taken so far.
Most of the inhabitants of these buildings started living in these buildings when they were in good shape and their rent as well as their cost was not much. But with the passage of time, these buildings have dilapidated but with the skyrocketing prices of land and construction material, their residents cannot afford to more to safer places.
Interestingly, many of these buildings are also declared as ‘heritage buildings’ but the residents continue living in them with minor or even no maintenance by the government.
Thursday’s incident is not the first. In August 2009, five-storied Khadija Manzil collapsed in Khajoor Bazaar near Lea Market in the Methadar area, resulting in the death of several people.
After the incident, the government announced launching a crackdown against the people living in buildings declared ‘dangerous’ by then Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA); however, nothing materialised practically.
More than 500 families living in worn-out buildings in the nearby areas, including Zulfiqar House and Taqi Building, had left their homes fearing that their buildings would also collapse but within a month, everything was forgotten and the families returned to the same old buildings.
Muhammad Ismail is one of them. His father had a home in Zainab Building – in the next street where the five-storey building collapsed Thursday morning.
He said that when his father bought the house, he had three sons and a daughter. Now, Ismail and his two brothers have around a dozen children and many of whom are also married. They all live in a joint-family system and moving to another building with such a large number of people is almost impossible.
Ismail is also aware that the building has been declared dangerous but accuses the government of doing nothing. “Where may we go? If our building is dangerous then the government must provide us a house to live. We don’t have any other option and only God can save,” said the old man.
One down, 160 more to go?
