KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Friday compensation for shopkeepers affected by last month’s deadly Gul Plaza shopping mall blaze would be released within two months amid calls for improved fire safety regulations to protect commercial buildings in Karachi.
The fire at Gul Plaza in January killed at least 67 people and left more than 15 missing, triggering renewed criticism of lax enforcement of building codes and emergency preparedness in Pakistan’s largest city.
Authorities said the blaze spread rapidly through the multi-story commercial complex, complicating rescue efforts and raising questions about wiring, access routes and fire safety systems in older markets.
“The government in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber is actively working to help shopkeepers restart their businesses and aims to ensure that compensation is provided within two months so that the shopkeepers can buy inventories to restart their businesses,” the chief minister said while addressing the inauguration of the My Karachi Exhibition, an annual trade and consumer exhibition, according to an official statement.
He said temporary locations had been identified where shopkeepers could operate rent-free until reconstruction is completed, paying only basic maintenance costs.
Shah reiterated the Sindh administration’s commitment to provide Rs 10 million ($36,000) to the families of those who died in the fire, along with immediate relief of Rs 500,000 ($1,785) for affected shopkeepers.
He said Gul Plaza would be rebuilt within two years “in the same manner and with the same number of shops,” adding that the new structure would be safer and constructed “without a single square inch extra.”
Business leaders at the event called for stricter enforcement of fire safety standards across Karachi’s commercial districts, citing unregulated electrical wiring and poor compliance as recurring causes of deadly market fires.
