Affectees of Anarkali fire incident: 'LCCI to take up early compensation payment issue with Punjab government'

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) will take-up the issue of affectees of Anakarli fire incident with the Punjab government for early payment of compensation. The LCCI President Ijaz A Mumtaz sated this while talking to a delegation of affectees of Anarkali fire incident at the chamber here on Tuesday.
He said that tragic Anarkali incident not only claimed over a dozen precious lives but also incurred loss of over 63 million rupees to the traders. He said that repeated fire incidents in different cities have also exposed weak control of the government departments which have failed to ensure proper implementation of rules and regulations.
He said that Lahore had become a hub of commercial activities but never due attention was given towards upgradation of fire fighting facilities to control the situation in case of such incidents.
He said that the government should install fire hydrants at the market places which are inaccessible for fire tenders to avoid future mishaps. He said that despite various fire incidents took place in the country during last one decade, no concrete measures had been taken. He said that although it is the government's task to put hydrants in inaccessible market places but in case of financial constraints at government level, the private sector should also contribute.
He said that the massive devastation caused by the huge fire could have been averted if the concerned government departments had performed their duties properly and ensured implementation of rules and regulations. "The LCCI is well aware of the difficulties being faced by the affectees of Anarkali and would make all-out efforts for early payment of compensation," he added.