Sindh govt forms committee to compensate fire-affected traders of Sadar markets

KARACHI: City Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Monday said that the Sindh Government has decided to compensate the affected shop owners of Cooperative and Victoria Markets whose businesses were severely affected due to the fire incident.

Taking to Twitter the administrator has informed that the Committee has been formed to ascertain the loss caused and provide the traders with compensation accordingly.

#Sindh Govt has decided to compensate the affected shop owners of Cooperative & Victoria Markets whose business was severely affected due to the fire incident. Committee has been formed to ascertain the loss caused & provide them compensation accordingly

— Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui (@murtazawahab1) January 31, 2022

Earlier,  Murtaza Wahab assured the citizens that an inquiry would be conducted to determine the cause of the fire that erupted in Victoria Market of Saddar.

Read more: Fire rips through Karachi’s Zainab market

While briefing the media on the fire, Wahab claimed that fire tenders had rushed to the scene as soon as they received the information.

“The fire erupted on the first floor of Victoria Market and five fire tenders and a snorkel took part in the mission to extinguish the blaze,” said Wahab. Protecting the lives and properties of citizens is the prime responsibility of the government and it is taking every possible effort to ensure that, he added.

In November last year, at least 250 shops were gutted in a fire that erupted in the Cooperative Market of Karachi’s Saddar area.

Read more: Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab appreciates fire brigade dept’s performance

Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon said that the blaze was “third grade”.

The affected shopkeepers alleged that the fire tenders arrived an hour after the blaze was reported. They added that if the firefighters had arrived earlier then major losses could have been averted.

The shopkeepers claim that the fire had erupted on the ground floor and spread to the first floor due to the huge stock inside the shops there.