Karachi : Gul Plaza inferno death toll reached to 26 here and there are fears of more loss of human lives in the tragedy as over 70 people were reported missing by evening on Monday.
Sindh chief minister, Murad Ali Shah, conceded at a press conference that human loss could be higher in the tragic fire incident of Gul Plaza. He made an attempt to cover anger of the public and victims families by announcing Rs 10 m compensation for each family of the victim of the tragedy.
Karachi has a long list of such fire incidents. After each tragedy , PPP’s provincial government makes claims of having independent inquiries and fix – up those responsible , but nothing changed in 18 years rule of Bhutto’s party rule in the province. Keeping its historic record , Sindh government’s spokesman , Sharjeel Mamon, made the same remarks during a TV show that the provincial government will fix-up all characters responsible of Gul Plaza fire tragedy. At the same time ,
Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) issued a statement in the same evening which said Gul Plaza owner had constructed around 200 shops out of the design approved by the authority. This statement was released on purpose , but it itself suggests criminal approach of SBCA . Can SBCA get rid of its criminal negligence regarding violations committed by the owner of Gul plaza that led to human tragedy that took more than two dozens human lives ? Another question which mocks SBCA’s statement is Is SBCA not reasonable for checking safety measures put in place by the owner of big commercial plazas like Gul plaza to protect human lives in any such emergency?.
These questions are very much relevant , but it will leave no worry for the rulers in Sindh as they have experienced and hushed up many such tragedies that claimed dozens lives rather hundreds of human lives . Badla Factory fire tragedy, which claimed around 300 innocent people, is one of such tragedies . Sindh government’s spokespersons and mayor will keep on issuing statements on this tragedy for few days and then forget every promise till another –God forbid — tragedy revisits Karachi to swallow more human lives.
Meanwhile , president, Asif Zardari , prime minister , Shahbaz Sharif , and many other national leaders issued condolences for the deceased and so performed their national duties deli gently.
In a related development , UK , Russia , China , Turkiya expressed grief over Gul plaza fire tragedy.
