My relatives are still buried under the rubble. I know they are alive because they used their mobile phones to contact me,” said one of the men protesting the government’s apathy regarding the building that had collapsed in the Moosa Lane area of Lyari on Thursday.
The protesters told this scribe on Saturday that the wreckage of the collapsed building has not been entirely removed and the government is not taking serious interest in rescuing the people still buried under the debris.
“Dozens of our family members are still missing,” claimed the demonstrators who have set up protest camps at Moosa Lane Chowrangi and refuse to end their demonstration until the rubble is completely removed.
No government official has visited the site of the incident, which has also increased the resentment of the protesters who caused all vehicular traffic to remain suspended in the area for hours on Saturday due to their demonstration against the government’s indifference.
BODIES RECOVERED: After a daylong rescue operation, bodies of nine more victims were recovered on Saturday from the rubble of the building, raising the death toll to 21.
The bodies of two children — brother and sister — were also recovered, and all the bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi before they were handed over to the heirs after competing legal formalities.
More bodies are likely to be recovered from the wreckage in the coming days as victims’ relatives have claimed that their family members are still buried under the debris.
Rescue workers told this scribe that narrow streets with most buildings covering the mandatory open spaces have adversely hampered the rescue operation.
“We cannot move the heavy machinery to the exact site for removing the debris and digging out the people buried under it,” they added.
COMPENSATION: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has announced compensation for the legal heirs of the people who lost their lives when the five-storey building collapsed as well as for those who were injured in the incident.
Rs 300,000 each would be paid to the legal heirs of the victims who were breadwinners for their families, whereas Rs 200,000 each would be paid to the heirs of those victims who were not the breadwinners for their families. Moreover, Rs 50,000 would be paid for the treatment of every injured survivor.
