KARACHI, July 25: A division bench consisting of Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui has issued notices to the provincial and city district governments, the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation, the cantonment boards, the Karachi Port Trust and non-governmental organisation Shehri in a petition agitating the collapse of a large number of hoardings in the June 26 storm.

The petitioner Human Safety Foundation submitted through Advocate Shafqat Shah Masoomi that precious lives were lost because of the loosely hung hoardings. He said the civic agencies had failed to formulate rules for the installation of hoardings and they were only interested in generating revenue from outdoor publicity. There was no inspection once a hoarding had been erected. A number of hoardings were hanging precariously even now.

Similarly, the KESC did not take sufficient care to maintain its poles, wires and other installations and they also caused human casualties during rains.

The Sindh High Court barred demolition of houses in two settlements and issued notices to the respondents for different dates.

Residents of a ‘katchi abadi’ near Gulshan-i-Zia Colony (Sheet No 3 and 4), Orangi Town, submitted that they had been living in the locality for over 30 years and nobody bothered about their settlement. Prices of their huts went up recently because of the Northern Bypass project.

Another petition was moved by residents of Abbasi Goth against threatened demolition of their houses. They said they and their ancestors had been living in the area since time immemorial.