KARACHI: Following the recent building collapse in Karachi’s Lyari area, the Sindh government has announced a plan to demolish extremely dilapidated structures across the city.
Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, and Home Minister Zia Lanjar shared details of the decisions in a press conference held after a high-level meeting.
Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said that while no compensation can make up for the loss of lives, the affected families, who are extremely poor, will receive financial assistance of one million rupees per family.
He added that he has suspended director-level officers and all Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) officials currently posted in the area. Authorities are also identifying which officers were posted there in 2022, when the building had already been declared dangerous.
Ghani revealed that 51 buildings in Karachi are in an extremely dangerous condition. The city commissioner has been directed to provide, within 24 hours, detailed data on the number of units and residents in these buildings so that demolition work can begin.
He also said there are 588 buildings in Karachi declared dangerous. These will be reviewed in detail to determine which need immediate demolition and which can be repaired.
The minister urged citizens to check whether their booked flats or plots have the necessary approvals before making any purchase
Minister Sharjeel Memon called the Lyari Baghdad area collapse tragic. He noted that there are 740 dangerous buildings across Sindh. The Director General of the SBCA has been suspended, and the government is investigating the role of the former DG in the incident.
It is worth noting that last week, a five-storey building in Karachi’s Lyari Baghdadi area collapsed. Six families lived in the building, and at least 27 deaths have been confirmed in the tragedy.
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