The traders affected by the Gul Plaza fire called on the government to provide an immediate financial package for the building’s reconstruction and the restoration of their businesses.
The death toll in the Gul Plaza blaze continues to rise, with fatalities reaching 14 after the rescuers managed to douse the inferno after around 33 hours of arduous efforts on Monday.
The fire started late on Saturday at the sprawling, multi-storey Gul Plaza shopping centre in the city’s business district and burned for more than 24 hours.
Addressing a press conference outside the burnt building, Gul Plaza Traders Association Chairman Mohammad Ismail and Pakistan Cereal Association Chairman Muzammil Rauf Chappal demanded a transparent inquiry into the fire incident so that the real facts could be revealed and those responsible for negligence identified, The News reported on Monday.
They also berated the city government and stated that the fire brigade did not reach the building on time, due to which the fire spread and engulfed the entire building.
The business leaders demanded that the government intensify the rescue operation and use all available resources to evacuate those who may be trapped in the building. They said the delay was putting precious lives at risk.
Traders said that more than 1,200 shops in the Gul Plaza had been completely destroyed, as a result of which millions of rupees worth of capital was burnt to ashes, and hundreds of traders were financially ruined.
They said that although a committee was being formed to assess the losses, it was not up to any single trader to recover the level of loss, as most of the traders had invested all their savings in their businesses.
They said that around six thousand employees working in Gul Plaza had become unemployed due to the fire incident, and they and their families would have no source of income.
The business leaders demanded that at least six months of financial assistance be announced immediately for the affected employees to ensure their sustenance.
They said the fire brigade vehicles that arrived at the scene were short of water, which exposed the incompetence of the city administration. The business leaders said that throughout the night, the affected traders kept appealing to government representatives for help to save their shops and goods, but the required support was not provided.
They added that the restoration and reconstruction of the Gul Plaza would require massive financial resources, for which the government would have to participate in collaboration with the private sector so that not only the traders could restart their businesses, but also the employment of thousands of employees could be restored.
