Sindh to approach private sector for fire saftey mechanism at shrines

Karachi

The Sindh government will enlist services of private sector firms to ensure adequate fire protection and emergency response facilities at all major shrines across the province, said Dr Abdul Qayoom Soomro, special assistant to the Sindh chief minister on auqaf and religious affairs.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the 6th Fire Safety and Security Awards Convention (2016) on Friday by the National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) in collaboration with Fire Protection Association of Pakistan, at which 33 companies were given awards for adopting best in-house fire protection practices and measures.

Dr Soomro pointed out that though his department had no direct relevance with fire safety but his department would still implement fire safety measures since it will ensure the protection of thousands of people who visited shrines.

He advised organisers of the convention to continue their laudable efforts for ensuring mechanisms of fire protection and safety and promised full assistance from the auqaf and religious affairs department in their endeavours.

He appreciated the services being rendered by NGOs and private entities for fire protection and safety, saying that they would result in better fire fighting operations.

Dr Soomro said the provincial government was determined to eradicate terrorism and 90 percent of its efforts had been successful.

Earlier in his speech, former adviser to prime minister on textiles, Dr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, quoted a statement of the federal human resource made in the National Assembly that there were no laws pertaining to occupational safety.

“If you remember, the Supreme Court has directed the provincial and federal governments to draft a bill in this regard but since no time frame was given this legislation is still pending,” he said.

He said industrial accidents and fire hazards had become a matter of routine in industrial cities and the absence of any precautionary measures and lack of a robust regulatory system has put the lives of millions of labourers in permanent danger. “The worst disaster in history of Pakistan took place on September 11, 2012 in Karachi’s Baldia Town Karachi when Ali Enterprises burnt down to the ground with some 259 men and women workers trapped inside it,” said Mr Baig.

He attributed their deaths to insufficient safety precautions taken on part of factory owners. He said some industrialists avoided investment in fire extinguishing equipment in order to save costs at the expense of the lives of workers.

The president of Super Highway Association of Industries, Mehtab Uddin Chawla, lamented the lack of any fire station anywhere nearby Sohrab Goth and Gulshan-e-Maymar.

He said industrialists could invest in fire fighting equipment at their factories but they could provide little protection in the absence of any fire station.

Wajahat Ullah Khan, the director Fire Protection Association of Pakistan, said that fire fighting equipment and emergency exits at any industrial place or workplace building always should always stay functional and be accessible to all for use.

Waseem Vohra, former vice-president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries, said emergency drills for swift evacuation of people from buildings should be a compulsory feature at every national institution, including schools and colleges.

Hussain Sabz Ali, a vigilance and fire safety official at Habib Bank, said that in case of an earthquake, people inside a high-rise building should not rush outside due to the very limited reaction time. Instead, he advised, they should duck beneath wooden tables or other furniture available in the room to keep sensitive parts of their body safe against any falling debris.