Lahore: The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has identified 260 dilapidated buildings in the walled city area that should be demolished immediately, reported a news source.
The WCLA conducted a survey of 22,000 buildings constructed in Lahore during the Sikh, Mughal and British eras, and found up to 600 of them in a poor state.
Out of these 600 dilapidated buildings, 232 require urgent rehabilitation, while 260 need to be razed to ground to avoid any losses of life. The survey revealed that most of these decrepit buildings are located within the Lohari area.
According to WCLA spokesperson Tania Qureshi, the residents of a building that collapsed on April 21 (causing six deaths) were directed not to construct a third story on the existing structure. The authority warned them that the building’s weak structure would not be able to bear any further load, but the residents continued to ignore this communication – thereby making way for the incident to occur.
The WCLA spokesperson also revealed that the authority – as a matter of practice – seeks police assistance when it serves notices to the residents of rickety buildings. In addition, it resorts to several legal mechanisms to avoid any untoward situations.
The spokesperson also mentioned that the WCLA has repaired 60 dilapidated constructions so far.
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