The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed grave concern over loss of millions of rupees in a fire incident in Shah Alam Market Plaza and asked the government to announce compensation for the businessmen who have suffered a huge loss only due to ill-planning and delayed action.
The LCCI president Mian Muzaffar Ali, senior vice president Tahir Javaid Malik and vice president Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said here on Monday that the fire in Shah Alam Market exposes weak control of government agencies, which have failed to ensure proper implementation of rules and regulations. Had the authorities concerned ensured proper exit and entry points in the plaza, the volume of the damage would have been much smaller, they said.
They said that Lahore had attained the status of commercial hub of the country but due attention was never given towards upgradation of fire-fighting equipment to control the situation in case of any such untoward incident. They said that on a number of occasions in the past, the LCCI had invited the attention of concerned authorities towards poor condition of fire-fighting equipment but to no avail. They urged the Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to look into the matter and issue necessary directions in this regard.