LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Kashif Anwar has urged to the government to redress the losses of PACE fire incident affectees and their shops should be returned to them immediately as they are facing serious financial difficulties.

He was talking to the delegation headed by former President of PACE Gulberg Muhammad Irfan Latif. Other members of the delegation included Executive Committee members of PACE Muhammad Ehtshamuddin, Zafar Iqbal, Rizwan Majeed Butt and others.

Kashif Anwar said that the concerns of the traders should be removed immediately and their shops should be handed over to them.

The delegation informed the LCCI President that they have suffered huge financial loss due to the fire in PACE. They demanded that they should be given immediate access to their shops, to clean them up and to resume business.

The delegation said that according to the assessment report of Structure Engineer Mirza Rizwan, the structure of the PACE Building was not damaged by the fire and it is safe for use.

The reports conclude “This clearly shows that there is no statistical conclusion to support the hypothesis that the fire has damaged the structure of the building.” They said that there are 408 shops in Pace which have been sealed by LDA.

LDA takes action when shopkeepers try to access the shops even though the administration is running the parking lot. They said that the shops should be returned immediately to save the traders from bankruptcy. They further said that a separate electricity meter should be installed for each shop.

LCCI President Kashif Anwar appealed to the government to support the PACE traders. He said that the Lahore Chamber fully supports the businessmen and in this regard, he has also written letters to the Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi and the concerned ministers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023