Pakistan Industrial & Traders Associations Front (Piaf) has expressed its concern over what it said insufficient arrangements of fire fighting in the shopping centres and industrial areas of the city.
Piaf chief Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, Lahore Township Industries Association chairman Ahsen Mahmood Butt, Paapam chairman Syed Nabeel Hashmi and Plastic Market Shahalam president Mubashar Sheikh in a joint statement issued here on Saturday, have expressed sympathy with Irfan Iqbal Sheikh, owner of a shopping centre, which gutted in the city on Friday.
Holding government quarters concerned responsible for this mishap, they alleged that the government, despite collecting heavy taxes, could not save the business community from damages caused by fire breakout.
Lahore Township Industries Association chairman Ahsen Mahmood Butt said that many factories in the industrial area have burnt but fire brigade was never found of any use.
Piaf chairman Sheikh Muhammad Arshad said that in this hour of need instead of fulfilling their responsibilities, government departments start holding business community responsible for mishaps.
Mubashar Sheikh was amazed that Lahore did not have sufficient fire brigade to extinguish the fire and the administration had to call fire brigade from surrounding areas.
The business leaders called upon chief minister Punjab Parvaiz Ellahi and District Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood to arrange fire brigade in all the business and industrial areas of the city on priority basis besides compensation in the Liberty incident.