Mochi Gate inferno: city government fails to remove huge piles of rubble

The City District Government Lahore could not clear the debris of the Mochi Gate high-rise buildings, destroyed by fire on February 7. The Solid Waste Management Wing of the City District Government Lahore and Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) have deployed around 850 workers are working day and night for the last week or so to clear the huge piles of rubble with the help of hand carts and donkeys.
However, narrow streets have made the task very difficult and time consuming. Owners of shops at adjacent markets complained that slow pace of work on debris removal was affecting their business. They observed that non-technical workforce had been hired to remove the debris, which had, so far, completed less than 30 percent of the task.
Meanwhile, sources said illegal constructions in the narrow passages of the area had made the task very difficult for fire-fighters when flames broke out at Bahria Tower on February 7 and engulfed adjacent buildings. They disclosed that the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) does not have the record of 50 percent of the buildings in its controlled area of Shah Alam Market.
They said most violations were committed between 1995 and 2005 in the busiest wholesale market of the province, where either basements were constructed illegally or height of buildings was raised over and above the permissible limits. The permissible height for one-kanal commercial building is 70 feet, 10-marla's 60 feet and for five-marla structure 40 feet, they added.
Sources observed that the local administration never showed a will to take action against illegal constructions, which encouraged many to build tall buildings that were in violation of buildings bylaws. However, the recent fire that played havoc in the area has alarmed the authorities and the Punjab Chief Minister had also shown concern over the city state of affairs.