Civic agencies passing the buck over letting chemical factory operate on residential plot

The unsatisfactory performance of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) and Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) once again became evident on Friday when at least 17 lives were lost following a fatal blaze that broke out in a chemical factory situated on a residential plot in the Mehran Town area of Korangi.

Both the KDA and SBCA, which come under the provincial local government ministry, appeared to be passing the buck when asked how a chemical factory was operating in a residential area.

Speaking to The News, KDA Director General (DG) Asif Memon confirmed that the 600-square-yard plot C-40 where the chemical factory was situated was a residential plot as per the KDA record. “The plot in our records is residential,” he said, adding that since 2017, the plot’s owner, according to their land record, was Faisal Tariq.

There cannot be commercial activities on residential plots, he stressed. He, however, absolved the KDA of any responsibility for the incident, saying that the approval of building plans and monitoring was the responsibility of the master plan department and the SBCA.

When asked if the KDA ever wrote to the plot owner or the building control authority regarding the industrial use of plot, he responded that he had no knowledge of that and had to get it checked.

Meanwhile, SBCA spokesperson Faran Qaiser said that teams of the building control authority reached the site after the fire was extinguished but could not get access to the building as the cooling process was under way.

Regarding the issue of illegal change in the land use of the plot, he said the SBCA would look into it and release a report by Monday. It is pertinent to mention here that the fire laws of buildings are provided under the SBCA's Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations, 2002. The fire department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has to certify the buildings' fire safety precautions and the civil defence department is supposed to conduct inspections regularly.

None of these departments, however, seem to be abiding by their own bylaws or even coordinating with each other leaving the citizens out on a limb.

The SBCA bylaws clearly mention that all the buildings that are ground-plus-three storeys or above, or more than 43-foot high, should be provided a set of standpipes system that should be installed in a vertical position to which fire hoses can be connected allowing manual application of water to the fire.

In 2014, then South deputy commissioner (DC) Mustafa Jamal Kazi and then Korangi DC Zubair Ahmed Channa issued a notification directing all the industrial units to implement the prescribed firefighting arrangements and associated protective measures under the rules of the Civil Defence Act 1951 within 15 days. Like many other rules and laws, no effort was apparently made to implement the notification.

Under the rules, the industrial units are supposed to set up their own civil defence organisation, establish a fire fighting squad and obtain necessary training from the civil defence department. All factories and commercial units also need to establish a warning system and provide adequate ‘means of escape’. None of these seemed to be in place in the chemical factory where the fire broke out on Friday.

Administrator’s visit

The newly appointed Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) administrator, Pakistan Peoples Party’s Barrister Murtaza Wahab, visited the factory and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where the injured and dead had been brought.

Wahab, who also acts as the spokesperson for the Sindh government, termed the Mehran Town factory fire a tragic incident. He said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had also taken notice of the blaze.

"We are saddened by the tragedy,” he remarked, adding that a complete investigation would be carried out into the blaze and all the requirements of justice would be met. “I offer my condolences to the families of the victims," he said, addressing a press conference on the tragic incident in Korangi.

He said the fire was reported to the fire brigade at 10:09am and the crew left at 10:10am. All measures were taken to extinguish the blaze as soon as possible and save lives but a major difficulty in the rescue operation was that there was probably no emergency exit, he remarked.

Wahab explained that 21 people were working on the first floor of the factory when the fire broke out. He added that police and fire brigade personnel were investigating the matter and their reports would be shared with the media.

During his visit to the JPMC, the KMC administrator enquired after the injured persons. He asked the management of the health facility to provide best medical facilities to the injured. “Had there been an exit door in the factory, there would not have been so many deaths,” he said. Doctors informed him that one of the two injured had been given first aid and the other was being treated.

Wahab also visited the mortuary of the JPMC and met the families of victims. He told the families that the Sindh government would extend all possible help to them.

Meanwhile, KMC Chief Fire Officer Mubeen Ahmed told the media said that the fire broke out on the first floor of the factory. He said they used snorkels and cranes to reach the second floor. He also shared that the door opening to the roof of the factory had been sealed. Had the door been open, he said, it would have been easier for them to rescue labourers.

Karachi Commissioner Navid Shaikh also visited the factory. The rescue work was carried out under the supervision of Shaikh, read a press statement issued by the Commissioner Office.

While the extinguishing operation was under way, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board Managing Director Asadullah Khan imposed emergency at the water board’s Landhi and Sherpao Colony water hydrants. Several water tankers were also sent to the site of the blaze to provide water.