Editorial
Living in danger
Take measures to repair the collapsing building
The disintegrating Wapda building in Mirpur in which a large number of stranded Pakistanis are living with families need urgent repair work to eliminate the possibility of fatal accidents. It is appalling to see that roofs of rooms on some of the floors above have already collapsed thereby exposing yawning holes large enough for a grown up man to plummet to his death. And the sight of children living next to those holes makes one contemplate the plight of the little ones for which they had played no role. The said building is on the verge of total collapse and yet the inmates cannot move away as they have nowhere to go. Figuratively speaking, they sleep next to death every night!
We fail to understand how successive governments have allowed nearly 500 stranded Pakistanis to live in such a dangerously decaying 4-storey building for over three decades. The building, put under the category of abandoned property since 1971, has no civic amenities to offer to the inmates, and no repair or renovation work has been carried out ever in this long period of time.
What stirs our conscience is, the building can be declared an abandoned property and left to decay as an inanimate object, but should we take the same outlook towards human beings? For no reason on earth can our decisions be devoid of human aspects. Those are humans out there living a cliff-hanger's existence and yet the authorities mull over what is to be done about them.
We strongly believe the need of the moment is to either demolish it or undertake repairs to make the building safe for human living. And this should be done not only out humanitarian but also civic concerns.
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