The process of demolishing a three-story illegal and dilapidated building in the Baldia Town area of Karachi began on Thursday. The building had started leaning over the previous day, which had spread fear and panic in the surrounding area. The demolition process was started 24 hours after the building had become dangerously tilted. Residents living around the building had evacuated their homes due to the high risk of collapse. There are many such hazardous buildings located in various areas of Karachi. The old city area in particular has a proliferation of such structures that are over 150 years old and threaten the lives of thousands.

Areas such as Garden, Ranchhor Line, Gulistan-e-Jhar, Lyari, Ramswami, Kharadar, OLd Haji Camp, Nayabad, Jubilee, Ratan Talao, Eidgah, and Civil Hospital have many dilapidated residential buildings in extremely precarious condition. The local administration and relevant authorities have repeatedly warned that these buildings need to be evacuated to prevent major disasters, but due to a lack of alternative housing arrangements, residents continue to inhabit these dangerous structures.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan