KARACHI, April 12: Residents of a number of buildings surrounding Moon Centre and Kaghazi Bazaar have sought the help of the Sindh chief minister, the housing and town planning minister and other officials.

In a joint appeal, they said that on April 9 a passerby, Haroon, died when debris of a second floor balcony of a building fell on him.

The resident said the building was built on plot nos 25,30,31 and 32, OT 9. They maintained that since 1983 when the construction started on the project, their representative organization, the Old City Welfare Association, moved the KBCA and later filed a number of suits upon which the building was sealed. They further said that in 1997, the builder/owners and the contractor, violating the court orders, restarted the construction and three roofs were built in only 20 days.

The construction was substandard and the entire building was a threat to not only 200 residents but also to dozens of people working in 36 shops operating on the ground floor. The lives of people living in adjoining buildings were also in great danger, said a resident of an adjacent building on plot 26.—APP