Call to redress grievances of Pace fire affectees

LAHORE:Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Kashif Anwar has demanded the government redress the grievances of Pace fire incident affectees and return their shops to them immediately as they are facing serious financial difficulties.

He was talking to the delegation headed by former president of Pace Gulberg Muhammad Irfan Latif. Other members of the delegation included Executive Committee members of Pace Muhammad Ehtshamuddin, Zafar Iqbal, Rizwan Majeed Butt and others.

The delegation informed that they had suffered huge financial loss due to the fire. They demanded that they should be given immediate access to their shops to resume business. The delegation said that according to the assessment report of Structure Engineer Mirza Rizwan, the structure of the Pace building was not damaged by the fire and it is safe for use. The report concludes ‘This clearly shows that there is no statistical conclusion to support the hypothesis that the fire has damaged the structure of the building.’ They said that there are 408 shops in Pace which have been sealed by LDA.

LDA takes action when shopkeepers try to access the shops even though the administration is running the parking lot. They said that the shops should be returned immediately to save the traders from bankruptcy. They further said that a separate electricity meter should be installed for each shop.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar appealed to the government to support the Pace traders. He said that the Lahore Chamber fully supports the businessmen and in this regard, he has also written letters to the CM and the ministers concerned.