Nasla Tower: DC East office to most likely go for controlled blast

The office of District East’s deputy commissioner (DC) interviewed four companies on Wednesday for the demolition of the Nasla Tower.

As per sources in the DC office, the authorities will most likely go for a controlled blast for the demolition, as they are satisfied with the options drawn out by one of the local companies. The Karachi commissioner had earlier constituted an eight-member committee for the evaluation and selection of express of interest sought from different companies regarding the demolition of the Nasla Tower through a controlled blast.

On Monday, a meeting of the committee was held with East Deputy Commissioner Asif Jan Siddiqui in the chair. The meeting was attended by one representative of the Sindh police, Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) each, NED University head of Civil Engineering Department Abdul Jabbar Sangi, NGO Shehri’s Amber Alibhai and Assistant Commissioner Asma Batool.

As many as six companies had submitted their proposals to the committee. One each of them was from Lahore and Islamabad, and the other four were Karachi-based firms.

Assistant Commissioner Asma Batool, talking to The News, said four Karachi-based companies -- Tabani which works in collaboration with Chinese company Shenting and High-Tech Demolition which works in collaboration with UAE-based GD Demolition Company -- have offered a controlled blast demolition, while the other two companies, Mir Enterprises and ANI Enterprises, have offered mechanical demolition.

She said that as most demolitions are taking place in Karachi, it would be safe to assume that Karachi-based demolition companies can carry out the demolition process swiftly. The last two companies, she said, have already demolished the Royal Park building and illegal establishments at the Aladin Park.

She said that High-Tech Demolition company is certified from the Pakistan Engineering Council. In their interview with the company, DC East Asif Jan Siddiqui was briefed that their UAE partners have demolished a 44-storey building in China; however, this will be the first of its kind experience in Pakistan. The company, she said, has assured the DC office that they will be able to procure the explosive, in a safer manner, from Wah Cantt.

The company will carry out a 15- to 20-day physical assessment and has also obtained structural design and layout plan of the building from the DC East office. The company has their engineers based in Islamabad, who Batool, said would easily be able to visit Karachi on and off.

The post-demolition work, as per the proposal of High-Tech Demolition, will take two months. “We have acquired financial quotation from all the companies in a span of 48 hours,” she said, adding that the final decision would be taken by the commissioner Karachi.

The prime concern of the authorities, she said, is to safeguard human life and property adjacent to and nearby the Nasla Tower. The two companies that have proposed to destroy the Nasla Tower through a blast, she said, are ready to take responsibility of this concern of the DC office.

When asked about the possibility of the mechanical demolition, she said they had not completely ruled it out. However, she stressed that the manual demolition would take at least two months and there would be a hassle to deploy manpower for the entire period of the demolition and a traffic plan for that purpose would also have to be taken into account.

As for the demolition cost, she said, the company would most likely cover it after getting their hands on the rubble. As per the Supreme Court (SC) order, she said, the builder is bound to bear the demolition cost, else his plot can be auctioned, but that is a lengthy process.

On June 16, the SC had ordered the tower’s demolition over its illegal construction on a service road, telling the builders to refund the registered buyers of the residential and commercial units within three months.

On September 22, a three-judge SC bench dismissed the review petition against the demolition of the 15-storey Nasla Tower. The apex court said the petitioner’s counsel had failed to show any title or registered lease deed about the allotment of area in excess of 780 square yards.

The top court also directed the Karachi commissioner to implement the June 16 demolition order, following which the assistant commissioner of Ferozabad served the Nasla Tower residents with an eviction notice on October 16 that was also published in newspapers.