RAWALPINDI, Dec 21: Punjab government has announced a package of compensation for those who lost their lives when half of the Ghakkar Plaza collapsed after being engulfed by fire on Saturday.

Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman, who visited the plaza on Sunday, told mediapersons that each killed rescue worker of the federal or provincial government would receive Rs2,000,000, while each civilian deceased would get Rs500,000 as compensation. Each critically injured person will get Rs50,000, he added.

It is for the first time in the history of the province that the amount of compensation has been raised to such a level. When asked about the less amount of compensation for civilians as compared with the government servants, Mr Rehman said the amount was not final and might be increased later.

He said the special inquiry committee had submitted an initial report of the incident to Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, adding that shortcircuiting due to electricity had been given as the possible cause of fire.

However, the final cause could be determined when the committee completes its work, he said.

The provincial minister said the committee was expected to submit its complete report within a week.

The committee is headed by Commissioner Haseeb Ather and includes DCO Imdaduyllah Bosal, MNA Haji Pervez Khan and MPA Shahryar Riaz.

Replying to a question regarding the inadequacy of firefighting arrangements, the minister said the government had allocated a budget of Rs1 billion to upgrade the firefighting equipment in all the districts of the province.

He said a state-of-the-art fire-fighting equipment would be made available in all the districts of Punjab during the next few months.

He lauded the role of Rescue 1122 in the incident and paid tributes to the firefighters who lost their lives in the rescue efforts.

The chief minister, he said, was concerned about the loss of lives in the incident and offered his condolence to the bereaved families.