Mehran Town factory fire case: 'Diyat will be found but justice could not be found'
Zarina Begum's grief is great. He had seen the funerals of not one, not two, but three sons rising together
"It simply came to our notice then. Little did I know that one day I would lose all three. I thought my children would be my support in my and my husband's weak age but I lost everything. The house was settled, everything was going well. Now the children of the three sons take rations from the tourist's place and fill their stomachs. What happened? "
Zarina Begum, 70, sits on a lap outside a small house in Usmanabad, an ancient area of Karachi. Looking at both of them, it seems that they are waiting for someone to come. Depression is evident on his face as the girl's father and Zarina Begum's three sons were burnt to death in a factory fire a few days ago.
Zarina Begum's grief is great. He had seen the funerals of not one, not two, but three sons rising together. And there are funerals whose forms have become unrecognizable from scorching.
Three of the 17 workers killed in a fire at a BM Luggage Company factory in Mehran Town, Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi, in August this year were their sons.
A local court was informed yesterday that the matter of Diyat has been settled between the factory owners and the families of the slain workers.
A local court has granted temporary bail to company owner Hassan Metha and ordered to pay Rs 4.2 million per family to the families of the deceased.
The company owner was arrested following the blaze.
"Didn't anyone come and ask if there was food?"
Factory
, Photo caption
Zarina Begum's three sons, Irfan, 37, Farman, 33, and Farhan, 30, went to work in the factory but never returned.
Zarina Begum's three sons, Irfan, 37, Farman, 33, and Farhan, 30, went to work in the factory but never returned. However, Zarina Begum's eldest son Afzal, 40, who worked in the same factory, survived the incident.
Afzal was present this morning with his three brothers in the factory where export quality bags were made.
"My three brothers were upstairs when a lot of bags caught fire near the stairs," he said. We did not even imagine that the fire would spread so much. Instead of going upstairs, I tried to spray the fire with other colleagues. But as soon as I sprayed, the fire flared up more and flames started rising.
According to Afzal, his three brothers kept screaming but due to lack of emergency exit and installation of 'prison-like' bars in the windows on the second floor, Irfan, Farman and Farhan died of suffocation and then fire. Turned their bodies to ashes.
"I called the fire brigade but they did not come. I even went to call them myself. But when he arrived, there was no water in his car. In a few moments, everything was destroyed. Machinery was called in to exhume the bodies. My question is, when Saul could have come to exhume the bodies, why didn't he come when the fire broke out?
Afzal just kept shaking hands and cries for help from his brothers kept ringing in his ears which still haunts him today.
After this tragedy, a series of 'big' people were tied up in this poor and middle class area. Afzal says that "every party came ... The road to the house was narrow so tents were pitched at the intersection and many promises were made to us. But to date not a single penny has been given. I am also unemployed because the factory is gone. There are rented houses. It's all over. "
Afzal has confirmed that the court has guaranteed him compensation but so far nothing has come of it.
"They are dead, we die every day."
The Mehran Town factory, which caught fire, was located in a residential area. Kashif, 22, lived in a plot-like house opposite the factory with his five siblings and parents who died in the blaze.
Kashif's mother Salma Bibi told BBC Urdu that when the fire broke out at around 10 am, she ran inside the factory but found out that the door of the department where her son was working was locked and There was no emergency exit.
"People trapped inside me, including my son, kept shouting, 'Save us,' but there was nothing we could do." I asked the janitor why the door of the upper department was closed and he said the owner had taken the keys.
According to Salma Bibi, Kashif's only dream was to go out to work and improve his home. He hoped Seth would take him to Dubai. Everyone knew, he told everyone. But he is dead and we are dying every day. "
According to Salma Bibi, she was the first to go and register a case at Sharifabad police station so that she could get justice.
Factory
"Everyone came to us, even Seth's relatives and said they would give us a lot of money, don't file a case. But I want justice now. No money. They are also stumbling for the 1 million government aid that was announced. And now because of Judge Sahib and DC Sahib we have got the hope of getting Diyat. He is very kind to us, but justice is done only when the criminals are punished. Because everyone knows that all the exits to the factory were closed, so no crime was committed.
For this report, when the owner of the company Hassan Metha was contacted for his position, his lawyer Hassan Sabir said: It happened here, but it didn't. However, the door that was closed was the roof, which is usually closed, what to do with it.
He further claimed that according to the investigating officer, Salma Bibi herself handed over the key of the door to the police and said that the watchman had left the keys and fled. And if that happened then what was the police doing? Why was the door not opened?
According to Hassan Sabir, the fault lies with the agencies whose job was to provide security and put out the fire. "When the fire brigade arrived at the scene, they did not have any water before. The other items used to put out the fire were not there, nor did the crew wear special clothing that would allow them to go inside and put out the fire.
"The company's equipment was more valuable than the lives of the workers."
Factory
When Saad Edhi of the Edhi Foundation arrived at the scene that day, he saw that all the windows of the factory were covered with bars.
"It simply came to our notice then that the owner would be more concerned about his equipment," he said. But because of these bars, the workers were burned to death. First we reached the destination where the fire was. That door was broken. It seemed that the workers had tried to break it from within. There was also a roof door but it was locked. The workers were badly trapped.
Saad claimed that when Edhi's first driver arrived at the scene, he was stopped by company guards and locked the door. "He kept repeating that he would not open the door unless Seth gave the order."
According to him, the last cremated body was taken out about five hours later.
Who is to blame?
According to Faisal Siddiqui, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, the culprits are the factory owners and the officials of those institutions who were responsible for enforcing safety rules in the factory.
Referring to the death of more than 250 workers in a fire in Baldia Town area of Karachi in 2012, he said, “If action had been taken against the owners of Ali Enterprises and their guilty employees, this incident might not have happened. The incident took place because no action has been taken against the companies whose negligence caused the fire in the Baldia factory.
Faisal Siddiqui further said that the factory was violating several laws including Sindh Factories Act 2015, Sindh Occupational and Safety Act 2017 and Sindh Environment Protection Act 2014.
"The families of those who were burnt to death in the factory can seek compensation not only by going to court but also under the Sindh Workers' Compensation Act 2015. The Sindh government is bound to pay compensation to these families."
"The factory was operating illegally."
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Korangi Saleemullah Odho said that the factory was illegal as its plot was in a residential area.
An application was made to the Sindh Building Control Authority for this plot that the owners want to build a residential house. But they set up a factory here, which is illegal. "
He added that even if the plot was turned into a factory, it was the responsibility of the owners to make reasonable arrangements to deal with any accident.
The only reason that happened in this factory was that when the fire broke out, people could not get out and they suffocated. This was the responsibility of the factory owners. And also our institutions. At the same time, under the Labor Act 2015, the Deputy Commissioner has been made an inspector for all such factories and it is his responsibility to get the concerned agencies to visit these factories.
"But unfortunately, I took charge on August 26 and the accident happened on August 27," he said. There are 71 factories within my area in this area which I have inspected.
DC Korangi Saleemullah further said that his only option is to send a notice to warn the factory, but he does not have the authority to seal the factory.
On the other hand, Hassan Sabir, lawyer of the company owner, said that the plot was actually rented by his client from 2019 and he did not know that it was located in a residential area.
"There are bars in all the factories inside Karachi. There is no way out," he said. I also told the court that a six-storey new building has been constructed in the City Court in the western district, there is no fire or emergency exit route in it either. And the fire extinguishing sprays have expired. Therefore, it was not our responsibility to make an emergency exit. It was the responsibility of the one who built the building. (The path) should have been, I'm convinced. '
Hassan Sabir claims that the building was actually a customs bonded warehouse in which registration is not required but its job is only to import goods and export them.
However, this point is still unresolved.
Afzal, an employee who survived the tragedy, said: "Because Seth used to pay us a fair salary, we never thought of making our own cards and registration. For the first time since the accident, we have heard of companies like EOBI and Sisi.