Sensors would be installed at all four sides of Ghakhar Plaza that would help expert detect that either any person is alive in wreckage or not and after the report the decision about lifting debris would be taken.
This was stated by the Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lieutenant General Farooq Ahmed Khan (Retd) while addressing a press conference outside the gutted building here on Saturday night.
He confirmed the death of to 7 to 8 persons in the incident, saying 63 persons have been injured while 11 persons were missing still missing. He said that three dead bodies were retrieved and four to five persons were identified in the debris. He said that total 35 fire stations, 300 Army troops along with 60 heavy machinery and helicopters of 6 Army Aviation Squadron took part in rescue operation and the whole operation was co-ordinated by NDMA.
General Farooq told the journalist that the provincial governments requested him to support District government on which he briefed Prime Minister who ordered to extent full support in this regard.
"The remaining structure of the building has become vulnerable and it might be collapsed at any time. He asked the people to keep away from the building and if the building remains intact, the decisions of its demolishing would be made after completion of rescue operation", Chairman NDMA added.
Responding a question he said that he has talked to the owner of the plaza, Raja Shahid Zafar, but he is not agreed with his view point regarding any act of terrorism before completion of investigations. He further said that it is too early to say that it was a terrorist activity or the fire took place because of the short circuit.
He said district government has constituted two committees to investigate the fire incident and to assess the losses. When they would finish their work, Punjab government would decide to compensate the owner of the plaza as well as the shopkeepers. He paid rich tributes to the rescuers of different organisations, who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty in the incident. He also asked the media to avoid sensationalise the matter and report the incident with great sense of responsibility.
Talking to Business Recorder, the owners of various shops in the Ghakhar Plaza said that they were receiving threatening letters from Taliban. In which they were saying that they would blast the building and the deadline they gave was December 27, 08. They said that the government did not pay any heed to it and did not provide any tight security. They said that even the building had no exit point where the shopkeepers could go out in any emergency situation.
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