KARACHI: The district administration has informed the Gul Plaza judicial commission that the ongoing Green Line extension project has resulted in traffic congestion on M.A. Jinnah Road near the ill-fated building.

However, the deputy commissioner maintained that no permanent encroachments or municipal work were found to have prevented access of emergency response vehicles and that temporary obstructions arising from traffic congestion were promptly cleared to allow access routes for fire tenders and rescue units.

Filing reply/statement in response to a questionnaire of the commission headed by Justice Agha Faisal of the Sindh High Court, South DC Javed Nabi Khoso also submitted that the district administration had received information about the fire at 10:27pm on Jan 17 and that he had reached the spot on 10:30pm and remained present to oversee and coordinate inter-departmental response and facilitation efforts.

The reply further said that the coordination was initiated with the fire brigade, Resuce-1122 and other concerned departments while the district administration had also established a facilitation help desk at the site to assist affected families, provide information and verification of missing persons and victims.

It also submitted that the district emergency operation centre was also activated to monitor the situation and to ensure effective emergency response.

The district administration also said that the police and traffic police were under their respective administrative hierarchy. These departments had extended necessary assistance in maintaining law and order, regulating traffic and securing the area to facilitate rescue operations.

Replying to a question about clearance of access routes to Gul Plaza under district administration, it submitted that M.A Jinnah Road was under the administrative control of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation while internal connecting roads on both sides of the plaza came within the jurisdiction of Town Municipal Corporation Saddar.

It maintained that traffic flow remained relatively higher than normal and congestion was reported on the surrounding roads at the time of the incident due to the ongoing Green Line project, but traffic police had promptly cleared the access routes.

About the identification of any lapses or departmental negligence, the district administration further submitted that matters of structural deviation came under the jurisdiction of regulatory bodies like Sindh Building Control Authority.

A document scrutiny committee and dispute resolution committee were constituted to verify the claims of legal heirs and affected persons to ensure transparent and lawful disbursement of compensation in accordance with the government policy, it added.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2026