KARACHI: Administrator of Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Saturday visited the residence of the people that had died in Friday’s factory fire incident and offered condolences to the families.

He visited the Dhobi Ghat Lyari residence of those killed in Mehran Town tragedy.

Mr Wahab announced a compensation of Rs1 million each for the heirs of the victims on behalf of the Sindh government and said that the Sindh government was standing with them in this hour of grief.

Talking to the families, he said that the Sindh government would extend all possible cooperation to the victims’ heirs.

He said that the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership also directed that the family members of the victims should not be left alone.

Opposition leader says Sindh govt should take responsibility for incident

He said that Rs1m each would be paid and the best medical care was being provided to the injured.

CM’s resignation sought

Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh on Saturday held the Sindh government responsible for the Korangi fire incident.

Mr Sheikh arrived at Mehran Town in Korangi along with MPA Raja Azhar, PTI district president in Korangi Gohar Khattak and others to condole with the bereaved family of Kashif, who was one of the victims of the incident.

The PTI leaders offered Fateha for the labourers who lost their lives in the incident and assured the affected families of their assistance.

Speaking to the media, Haleem Sheikh said that the chief minister of Sindh should take responsibility of the incident and resign and a thorough investigation be conducted to find out who allowed the construction of a factory in a residential area, and why safety guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in the aftermath of the Baldia factory fire were not complied with and how the factory owner managed to get an NOC from the environment department.

The mother of a victim complained that fire engines arrived at the scene after two hours.

Haleem Sheikh said that the federal government had provided 52 fire engines for Karachi, but the relevant department could not even operate them as they do not have drivers, nor they have any arrangement of water to extinguish fire.

He said that it appeared that labour department, the Sindh Building Control Authority and the environment department had failed to carry out their responsibilities as after the 18th Amendment all these matters were responsibility of the provincial government.

“The statements of eyewitnesses and affected families indicate that the rulers of Sindh were more responsible than the company owners,” he claimed.

The Sindh government should immediately issue a compensation of Rs10m for each of the deceased workers and provide government jobs to one relative of victims, he demanded.

“We will move court on this issue as well,” he added.

“Murtaza Wahab as KMC administrator should have reached the spot at the earliest to lead the rescue and relief activities, but he preferred to please his boss Bilawal Zardari who had to depart for Thatta,” Mr Sheikh said and claimed that Murtaza Wahab and Saeed Ghani were responsible for issuing “illegal” NOCs.

Mother of the victim Kashif, while speaking to media appealed for justice for the affected families and said that there was no arrangement for extinguishing fire in the factory while all the entry and exit points were locked.

“It is not an accident, but a planned conspiracy,” she claimed and added that when neighbours tried to break the locks or windows, watchmen of the factory stopped them and kept them at bay.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2021