Karachi: City Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani recently directed the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) to ensure the immediate desertion of all dilapidated buildings within the city — a news source reported. His directions came in the wake of the unfortunate incident from yesterday (June 8) involving the unexpected toppling of a residential building in Lyari.
The commissioner gave the orders during a briefing session with SBCA officials regarding the said unfortunate incident. He was briefed that the number of dilapidated buildings in the city had been rising each year, and that currently the city had an estimated 422 such structures. He was informed that notices to vacate these buildings had already been issued, including the Lyari building; however, the SBCA’s orders had not been complied with, in time. The commissioner instructed that dilapidated buildings should be vacated at all costs.
According to the details issued by the SBCA, the agency’s engineers had determined that the building was dangerous and had issued a notice in this regard on March 16. The utility providers had also been issued notices to cut off the connections so that the residents would be compelled to vacate the premises. However, the authority’s orders were unfortunately ignored, leading to yesterday’s tragedy.
