Dangerous buildings

Residential buildings in Karachi are falling like nine pins. Many families are devastated and some completely destroyed as tons of rubble swallow up their near and dear ones. It is really agonizing for survivors to stand outside a heap of steel and mortar hoping that somehow their near and dear ones will be pulled out of the rubble. It is only a miracle that saves some lives otherwise the rescue services in this metropolitan city leave much to be desired. Only a few days back, there was a fire in Hijrat Colony and the fire tenders arrived after one hour and did not bring enough water so they had to go back and returned after another hour resulting in casualties that could have been avoided.

There is a general sense of carelessness and absence of urgency in such situations. It is not only fires that are consuming whole households but also weak structures that require just a gentle push in the form of even minute tremors or unexpected downpours which due to global warming are now becoming more powerful and more dangerous by the day. While fires are unexpected and there is very little chance to preempt them the same cannot be said about weak structures that are weak only because of the lack of vigilance by concerned authorities during the building process and sometimes even after a structure is finished it is made vulnerable by adding illegal structures to it to satisfy the greed of builders.

While illegal additions contribute to structure failures there is also the question of use of substandard materials by the builder who is not really interested in the longevity of the buildings he builds but in the immediate profit he could make by cutting corners on all counts.

Steel is one of the main ingredients of a building and there is a department whose whole purpose is to check, regulate and ensure that all steel used in Pakistan is of a certain standard. This is The Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), which was established in 1996 through an Act to replace Central Testing Laboratories and the Pakistan Standards Institution to standardize quality of products manufactured in Pakistan. This is the body who should shoulder any blame if any substandard products like steel bars are used in Pakistan. According to the section 14 of the Act, the items notified by the Federal Government prohibit the manufacture, storage and sale of the articles that does not confirm to the Pakistan Standards.

The person manufacturing the notified items must obtain a license from the Authority and the goods must bear the standard quality mark as per rules notified by the Federal Government for the purpose of this Act. Construction bars have been put under mandatory list as per notification 267(i)/88 dated 16th April 1988. Unfortunately, even after lapse of 32 years, non-approved bars are manufactured and are being used in Pakistan.

All manufacturers of steel bars are required to obtain a license from PSQCA and after the finished product is ready for transportation to market it should be stamped to certify that it meets all the PSQCA standards for steel bars. None of this is actually taking place. Non-approved bars are still being manufactured by re-rolling mills who do not have any facility to manufacture bars complying with PSQCA Standards. Mostly, bars are manufactured from Sub-standard ship plates, BALA, Ingot or any other roll-able material. In many cases, the sub standard steel bars are sold directly to builders or to vendors who do not care about the government regulations regarding standards to be maintained in the manufacture of these bars.

Naturally, the use of non-approved bars makes the concrete structure dangerous and use of approved bars makes the concrete structure safe as the standards approved by PSQCA for manufacture of bars have been developed keeping in mind the fault line that passes through Pakistan, in the earthquake zone. The public at large is not educated to distinguish between approved and non-approved bars.

The twisted bars manufactured from ship plates can be easily identified as non-approved bars from physical appearance. Whereas deformed bars cannot be distinguished from physical appearance. In order to determine that the bars are approved or non-approved, it must be tested in a laboratory. At present, the price difference between approved and non-approved bars is Rs.13,000 and Rs.15,000 per Metric ton. It is alleged that steel bars that are being imported from outside the country also do not follow PSQCA standards and foreign manufacturers do not obtain license from Pakistan in order to adhere to our standards.

No wonder that we are building residential complexes that are death traps for the residents and due to substandard material cannot withstand climatic and other disasters. It is imperative that the Ministry for Science and Technology revamp the entire steel bars industry and bring it under strict compliance of PSQCA. The writer would recommend that to bring the industry in line with PSQCA standards and thus save the lives of people who otherwise are living in constant danger following steps should be taken:

Courts should give PSQCA authority/Ministry of Science and technology to disconnect electricity of those units which do not have the requisite facilities to manufacture Steel Billets and Steel Bars as per approved standards. All units using sub-standard raw materials and producing and marketing sub-standard steel bars must be shut down as enough relief (over 8 years) have been given to them to comply with PSQCA standards.

Ministry of Commerce should be directed to delete the definition of Re-Rollable Scrap as this is unique for our country and this leads to production and marketing of sub-standard steel in the country as our country lies in highest seismic zone and building code also does not allow.

Ministry of Science and Technology must be directed to take necessary steps and amend the PSQCA Act and its Rules as per international and regional countries requirements.

As the writer was writing this another building collapsed in SITE near Siemens Chowrangi. This situation is now alarming and time for PSQCA to enforce the law firmly so that future loss of life can be avoided.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020