SUKKUR, Dec 31: Despite a lapse of seven days, the Sukkur taluka municipal administration has neither removed the rubble of Sajjad Plaza nor lodged a case against the builder concerned.

The six-storey building situated on Hussaini Road had collapsed on Dec 24, killing seven people and injuring 17.

Soon after the tragic incident, officers of the district and taluka councils had rushed to the scene and instead of supervising rescue work were seen busy in photo sessions, while the area people recovered the dead and injured from the rubble, during an overnight rescue operation.

Seven days have passed and it seems that the district government and the taluka municipal authorities have forgotten the victims of Sajjad Plaza, because the rubble is still lying at the site and the busiest Hussaini Road is closed for vehicular traffic, causing hardships to the area people and especially the shopkeepers.

On the other hand, Station Road, which is adjacent to Hussaini Road, is also in a bad shape as drain water has accumulated on it, creating difficulties for the commuters and pedestrians.

Meanwhile, Sukkur District Nazim Sukkur Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has ordered a halt to the work on under construction residential and commercial plazas in the city until and unless they fulfill the required provisions of building laws. He said that if in future any high-rise building was constructed in violation of the relevant building rules, it would be bulldozed and the builder would have to face litigation.

Shah said that a committee had been formed to probe into the tragic incident of Sajjad Plaza and its record had been taken into custody.

He told this correspondent that while going through the records it was revealed that the permission for constructing a three-storey plaza was granted by the former taluka nazim of Sukkur and the present taluka council administration allowed the builder to construct three more floors.

He said that Sajjad Plaza was constructed by violating town planning rules and he had ordered registration of a case against the responsible persons including, municipal officers, builder and contractor.

He said that the builder would be asked to pay compensation to the victims and added that he ordered payment of Rs200,000 for each dead and Rs100,000 each for the injured person.

The nazim has also ordered a survey of 52 residential and commercial plazas by the town planning and building control authority to prevent such tragic incidents in future. He has also ordered a survey of all the buildings, which were in dangerous condition so that timely action could be taken to avoid loss of precious lives.

However, the order issued by the district nazim regarding stoppage of work of high-rise buildings in the city is not being implemented by the builders as construction work on many high rises is in full swing, which suggests that the builder mafia is far more powerful than the district administration. Residents of Kutcha Bunder and Bunder Road have repeatedly drawn the attention of the district and taluka authorities to illegal construction of high-rise buildings on irrigation department land on the right bank of River Indus.

They again have demanded of the district and taluka councils to arrange thorough inspection of the construction work to prevent any mishap.