SBCA’s bid to raze wedding halls foiled

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) in coordination with the District Korangi administration made an attempt on Monday to demolish 45 wedding halls in Korangi located between Darul Salam and Lucknow Society.

The demolition bid was, however, failed due to a violent protest by workers of the wedding halls. When the anti-demolition team took heavy machinery to the site, labour force of the halls protested and pelted the team with stones, due to which front glasses of bulldozers were damaged.

Commenting on the incident, All Karachi Marriage Hall Banquet Association President Rana Raees told The News that after the wedding hall policy was drafted in 2019, it was decided that the existing marriage halls would be commercialised while the new ones would be constructed over 2,000 square yards on at least 150-foot wide road.

He lamented that the SBCA had not converted the status of the wedding halls as per the policy. “We have paid challan and done all the documentation,” he said, adding that their association had also obtained a stay order from the SHC.