A manmade disaster struck Lyari’s Khadda Market area in Karachi on Sunday as a five-storey residential building collapsed on its occupants. Till late into evening, rescue workers tried to remove the debris manually in a desperate attempt to save lives, a task made difficult by ill-planning – or lack of any planning — of the neighbourhood, which prevented heavy recovery equipment from entering the narrow and congested lanes leading to the scene of destruction. They did manage to pull out several people alive from the rubble. But many of the eight families living in the building suffered pain of loss. Unfortunately, it was a tragedy waiting to happen. According to reports, the day before the structure came tumbling down on them its residents, sensing trouble, had called the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and the Commissioner’s office informing them of the signs of the impending danger to seek help. That amounted to asking too much of the officialdom too soon, i.e., if at all a positive response could be expected.

This is the second such incidence in the space of just three months. In March last, a similar tragedy had claimed 20 lives in Karachi’s Rizvia Society. They happened because the existing safety rules for construction are violated with impunity by the field staff, more often than not, with the collusion of higher SBCA officials and other authorities. The attitude toward development and design of the built environment is no different. Over the last two decades, the city has become a concrete jungle with the parks and other public spaces taken over by all sorts of illegally constructed commercial and residential structures. About a year and a half ago, many lost their livelihoods when hundreds of illegally constructed shops and additional structures in the Empress Market for which KMC had been collecting rent – thereby putting its seal of approval on them - and some other places were demolished on the orders of the Supreme Court. That is bad enough. There is no way those concerned can absolve them of criminal negligence when buildings cave in on people. Sindh Governor Imran Ismail was very right when he said “the corruption of the SBCA is the key reason behind such incidents. This body needs extreme measures of reforms and revival.”

Soon after the appalling incident, Local Government Minister Nasir Shah issued a statement, saying the victims of the Lyari building would be provided complete support, and directed the municipal administration to join rescue and relief operations. He also promised a transparent inquiry against those responsible. If the past is any guide, nothing much is to come out of the inquiry. Some small fry might be punished and then it will be business as usual. Such tragedies will keep recurring unless the relevant authorities are willing to clean up their act.