RAWALPINDI, Dec 27: The doors of Cantonment General Hospital reopened to patients on Saturday, about a week after the Gakhar Plaza tragedy that forced the administration to evacuate the staff and patients, officials said.
The hospital, which is located just behind the Gakhar Plaza, remained under threat as flames and clouds of smoke engulfed the shopping centre. The inferno also resulted in the collapse of half of the four-storey sprawling structure.
Though the hospital building largely remained safe during the incident, its administration block and the Gynecology Department suffered damage. Entrance from that part of the building has been walled off for safety reasons. Hospitals garden has been ruined by movement of firefighters and earth moving machinery.
The Out Patient Department (OPD), Surgery, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and other specialised departments in addition to the vaccination centre have also resumed services to the patients.
The fears of danger would not be completely eliminated till the demolition of the gutted portion of the plaza. However, the situation remains unchanged as the owner of the building has not yet started removing the debris and making arrangements for the demolition of the remains.
Business on the Bank Road, particularly in the shops in close vicinity of Gakhar Plaza, is yet to resume, as the rehabilitation like removal of debris and cleaning of road is still to be done. Police cordons have also not been removed, restricting the movement of public.
Shopkeepers have raised their concern over the delay in the demolition work and removal of debris. Their businesses remain closed since December 21. Shops and business activities in front of the hospital also remain suspended for the past one week.
Gakhar Plaza’s owner Raja Shahid Zafar has not yet indicated as to when he will carry out the demolition of the remaining building. Official sources said the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board had sent another notice to the owner in this regard.
Meanwhile, the committees formed to assess the losses suffered by shopkeepers and establish the cause of fire have not yet been able to complete their work.
The committee on assessment of losses was still holding meetings to record statements of shopkeepers on the extent of losses.
Jamaat-i-Islami has announced to hold a peaceful protest at Gakhar Plaza on Sunday afternoon against the government and the administration for giving a cold shoulder to the Gakhar Plaza tragedy. The political party demanded that the government should make arrangements for the recovery of three dead bodies still believed to be lying under the rubble.
Jamaat-i-Islami Rawalpindi Ameer Raja Abdul Waheed claimed dead bodies of Nadeem Ashraf, Ehsan Abbasi, Mansoor Malik and several others were still buried under the debris, and authorities were not aware of the grief and sorrow of bereaved families. He said members of the affected families would join the protest on Sunday.
