Karachi:
It has been exactly five years since a seven -story building, built on a plot of 74 square yards in the Gulbahar district of Karachi, collapsed. Consequently, 27 people, including eight women and three children, lost their lives in the unfortunate incident. An illegal construction case was devoted to the court, and the owner of the building and his four members of his family was found guilty of guilty manslaughter – intended to dissuade illegal activity. However, after a brief break, prohibited activity resumed sporadically.
Liaquatabad, a district of Karachi’s Central District, is home to many unauthorized buildings that defy safety standards. These structures, up to six floors, are built on tiny plots of land, generally at around 90 square yards.
The area is dotted with these buildings with various construction stages, each comprising a dozen portions to accommodate several families. This has put pressure on the already fragile civic infrastructure. Specific examples of such oily can be found on plots 328, 333, 372, 389 and 400 in Bloc 10 of Liaquatabad.
It is alarming that dangerous construction can continue without control, apparently with the complicity of the local police and those responsible for the Sindh Building Control Authority, despite the demonstrations of residents and judicial orders to repress the manufacturer’s mafia.
The annual SBCA annual performance report for 2024, published on January 1, 2025, reports that more than 1,500 illegal constructions have been demolished or confronted with legal action in the Sindh, including the seven districts of Karachi. This raises questions about the question of whether SBCA staff have not noticed the illegal Liaquatabad structures, who have been under construction for six months to a year.
The acquittal of eight SBCA officials in the infamous case of collapse of the Gulbahar building may have had a disturbing consequence. The failure of the accusation to prove accusations against them may have embraced the persons involved in the corrupt link of manufacturers, civil servants and the police.
Perhaps the benefit of the doubt given to eight SBCA officials in the infamous case of collapse of the Gulbahar building – because the accusation has not proven the accusations against them. It seems that the authorities expect only another Gulbahar type tragedy to encourage them to action.
