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n Lyari, an old settlement of Karachi, a five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market collapsed on Friday, July 4, killing at least 27 people and leaving many more maimed and traumatised. Distressing videos of collapsed structure went viral on social media with people expressing grief, sympathy and horror. The government rushed in for a rescue operation that concluded in two days.
The grief and sympathy might have been heartfelt and sincere, but seemed to miss the point; this tragedy was not borne out of a mistake or simple circumstance. Rather, it was a part of a recurring problem in Karachi’s housing landscape. There is a need for adequate awareness of the context before advocating broad and substantive reforms.
In the mid-70s, the Bismillah Building collapsed in Musa Lane, Lyari. It is remembered as the first major building collapse in Karachi. But how many buildings have collapsed since then? Is anybody keeping count of loss of life and property? The statistics are not readily available. Much of Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, is in a state of disrepair. Besides there is a visible lack of urban planning, lack of interest in institutions, irregular boundaries and a lack of development and administrative resources.
The people of Karachi face many challenges on a daily basis. One of the basic problems is a shortage of housing. The government agencies seem to be failing to provide affordable housing.
Data related to land use too is not readily available. This is a basic requirement for urban governance and planning. As government agencies fail to provide shelter to the citizens, a favorable environment for ‘builders and investors’ is available. In the name of affordable housing, thousands of shoddy structures have come up in Karachi over the last three decades with the connivance of regulating agency staff. The consequences of this are there for everybody to see. Multi-storey residential buildings are collapsing by the day.
There is little planning or adherence with standards and regulations for the construction of residential buildings. It is as if the relevant government agencies have fallen asleep. Their officials are often accused of receiving bribes in return for abandoning the city to the so-called builders, developers and investors.
One look at the data shows that, since the collapse of the Bismillah Building in Lyari’s Musa Lane, countless buildings have collapsed. Apparently the government agencies have not learned any lessons resulting in a strategy to prevent such incidents in the future.
Record shows that a building collapse occurred in the same area in June 7, 2020, when a five-storey residential building collapsed in Khada Market, Lyari. The debris of this building caused an adjacent building to collapse as well. The building was once inhabited by about 40 families. 30 of the families had already left when the structure came down.
Disappointingly, such incidents continue and loss of life and property has become commonplace. Poor construction is behind many of these tragedies. Till date, the number of buildings that have collapsed in Karachi and the final figures of the losses are not available anywhere.
Soon after the Lyari tragedy in June 2020, the Sindh Building Control Authority declared 422 buildings in Karachi as dangerous for habitation. Out of those 273 dilapidated buildings were in Saddar Town. According to the SBCA report, there were 49 dangerous buildings in Lyari Town, 46 in Liaquatabad Town, ten in Gulberg Town, nine in Jamshed Town, eight in Gulshan Town, six in Malir Town, four in Keamari and North Nazimabad Town, three in Baldia and Shah Faisal Town.
It should be noted that the figures refer to the decade-old administrative division - Town System, that was abolished in 2011. Today Karachi consists of seven districts and 25 towns.
There is a need for urgent planning to inspect all unsafe and dangerous buildings. The findings can form the basis of a plan for urgent repairs. Meanwhile all the families residing in hazardous buildings need to be evacuated.
There is a need for a radical change in the Sindh Building Control Authority to bring transparency and efficiency. There is a need also to improve the quality of construction materials such as cement, sand, steel and bricks. Strict, indiscriminate enforcement of construction regulations must follow.
The contributor is aKarachi-based urban planner and geographer