The strong hammer echo fills a wide and desolate compound full of lots of debris, since the workers carefully demolish the remaining structure of a five -story collapsed building in a careless neighborhood of Karachi.
Until recently, this building on a street full of potholes in the city of Lyari was home to several families, playing a central role in the daily life of the neighborhood. But the decades of negligence and structural deterioration led to a tragic collapse earlier this month, which resulted in the death of 27 people and injuries to several others, leaving dozens without home. Most of the victims belonged to the Hindu community.
“It felt as if a bomb exploded on my head. Everything I remember is to take out the rubble of the debris, and there were many shouts,” said Rashid Ali, who miraculously survived a roof fall with a fractured right leg, he said. Anadolu.
Another resident, Chaman Meshuri, described two different shakes that shook the building moments before collapsing, allowing some residents to escape.
“I was in my store when my son called me on the shakes. I told my family to come out immediately,” said Meshuri Anadolu.
His rapid response saved the lives of his five children, but four other family members who could not evacuate in time were killed.
The initial investigations revealed that the structure, originally built with only three floors, had been officially declared insecure in 2022. Instead of evacuating, the owner of the building allegedly collaborated with local authorities to illegally add two additional floors, further weakening its already fragile base.
Residents, including Ali and Meshuri, say they were never informed about the evacuation order.
‘Ticking bombs’
Lyari contains hundreds of ruins buildings that are considered insecure to live. In addition, Lyari has more than 1,500 buildings of the British colonial era, many of the sites officially protected as protected sites.
Official statistics indicate that around 600 buildings in Karachi have been declared insecure, with at least 50 in “extremely dangerous” conditions, threatening the imminent collapse.
“These buildings are like ticks that can explode any day,” said Arif Hasan, a city planner veteran Anadolu.
Hasan attributed the vulnerability of the city to disasters to generalized corruption, persistent violations of construction laws and inappropriate supervision by construction authorities.
“A strong tremor can cause a massive disaster. There are so many poorly designed buildings and made in Karachi,” he warned. According to Hasan, many structures prior to participation are in a relatively better way than the newest and most built buildings.
Many older buildings are illegally occupied or in tenants of the house that still pay nominal rentals established during the partition in 1947, ranging from RS150-250. Neither the tenants nor the owners prioritize the necessary maintenance, experts say, which represents a serious risk for Karachi’s architectural heritage.
Assembly housing crisis
The collapses of the building are not unusual in Karachi.
In March 2020, another deteriorated building collapsed in Golimar, killing at least 27 people and wounding more than 50.
However, the threat extends beyond the oldest buildings, since even the new constructions are prone to collapse due to regulatory poor supervision.
According to Hasan, the growing scarcity of Karachi housing forces people to the hands of unregulated developers, exacerbating the crisis.
“The city desperately needs a strategy to provide affordable homes to the lower and medium -sized income population. It is the only way to gradually solve this problem, otherwise, people will continue to fall prey to informal builders, and such disasters will continue to happen,” he emphasized.
According to this evaluation, Hassan Bakhshi, president of the Association of Builders and Developers, offered the association assistance to rebuild dangerous buildings.
“These buildings are a danger to the on the stalking, not only for their residents but also for all other nearby structures. They must be immediately demolished and rebuilt in line with seismic and other crucial guidelines,” Bakhshi said.
He pointed out that most occupants of these structures lack the financial means to rebuild without government assistance. He recommended establishing an independent authority composed of developers, engineers, city planners and officials to address the problem urgently.
The Provincial Government has ordered the Building Control Authority of Sindh (SBCA) to immediately disappoint and demolish the buildings categorized as “highly dangerous.” A SBCA spokesman confirmed that residents of approximately 50 dangerous buildings have been issued.
“Evacuation is not an easy task because residents resist any step of this type. They demand alternative homes, which is not in our domain,” said the official under condition of anonymity.
Recognizing that the authorities had violated construction regulations by allowing additional floors in the Lyari collapsed building, the spokesman confirmed an ongoing investigation. Eight SBCA officials and the owner of the building have been arrested.
The principal minister of Sindh, Sharjeel Memon, recently acknowledged that the provincial government could not house all residents living in ruins.
“Whatever the available space with the government, we will provide that to house the most deserving residents, those who have no other option,” Memon told reporters, adding that there was no legal obligation for the government to do it.
