Karachi
In the second such incident since the latest Gujjar Nullah cleanup drive was launched just over a month ago, seven people were reportedly injured on Monday as a wall of one of the houses built along the drain collapsed during an anti-encroachment operation.
According to district administration officials, illegal structures were being removed from a portion of the Gujjar Nullah falling in the Liaquatabad No 4 when the tragedy occurred. The injured, who included three labourers, were taken to a nearby hospital and their conditions were said to be out of danger.
In a similar incident on July 14, a woman died and four others suffered injuries when a house, which authorities said was built over the Gujjar Nullah, collapsed while a section of the drain was being cleaned. The incident had eluded a contentious response from the provincial minister for local government, Jam Khan Shoro, who categorically denied that any monetary compensation would be given to the family of the victims.
Shoro, while speaking to The News, had said the affected people had a house inside the drain and, hence, could not have been saved. “The cleaning work was being done at quite a distance from the house but nothing could have saved it from collapsing since it was built inside the drain.” He added that people living in such illegal houses did not deserve to be given any kind of compensation.
In their defence, KMC officials too had claimed the house was illegally built and that its roof caved in during a routine cleanup operation.
Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science & Technology entrance. — QUEST Website/FileThe Sindh High...
This image shows Karachi Police personnel and commandoes standing guard on November 29, 2023. — Facebook/Karachi...
A passenger train passes by the wreckage of a train in Daharki, Pakistan.— AFP/FileA model civil appellate court has...
An aerial view of Karachi city. — AFP/FileZikr: Volume IIIThe VM Art Gallery is hosting an art exhibition featuring...
In this still, Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani gestures in a meeting during his visit to the offices of...
Students take lessons during class in Sindh. — AFP/File The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 was launched...