KARACHI: The terrifying fire that erupted at Gul Plaza on Saturday night could have been contained sooner, but delayed response and limited resources from the authorities allowed the blaze to rage unchecked for hours.
Traders and area residents said that timely action from the Saddar Fire Station, other civic bodies, and local officials could have saved lives and livelihoods, yet the firefighting operation only picked up in full force early Sunday.
Shopkeepers at the site told Dawn that if the firefighting team had arrived last night with full force and resources, the scene here would probably look very different.
One shopkeeper pointed out that the Saddar Fire Station is only a few minutes away, yet no timely action was taken.
Traders say fire could have been contained sooner,
but limited resources and delayed action by
authorities allowed it to spread unchecked
A local resident said they were repeatedly told on Saturday night that there was a shortage of water, which hampered the operation.
People criticised the Sindh government and the Karachi mayor, questioning where the mayor and provincial ministers were during the crisis. They also highlighted that the condition of M.A. Jinnah Road makes it extremely difficult to position even two water bowsers side by side.
“Had the operation started properly the moment the fire broke out, perhaps so much damage could have been avoided. By morning, everything had been consumed by the flames,” one shopkeeper said, looking over the rubble.
“If a proper rescue operation had been in place, people could have been saved, and businesses might have survived. The government doesn’t seem to realise that these weren’t just shops – thousands of households’ livelihoods were at stake,” a clothing dealer lamented.
“At first, the smoke kept spreading, and then the fire reached the upper floors. If the teams had arrived on time, perhaps people could have been brought out safely,” a young man on the scene recounted.
Atmosphere of fear and mourning
The fire that could still not be fully extinguished by Sunday night has cloaked the bustling M.A. Jinnah Road and Saddar area in an atmosphere of fear, anxiety and mourning.
The rising sun, usually seen as a symbol of life and hope, appeared sorrowful this Sunday morning in Karachi. The light that every day awakened new hopes in shops and businesses was silent, as if it too had lowered its gaze after witnessing the blaze and destruction.
Along with traders and the relatives of those who died, even the air around Gul Plaza seemed to be grieving.
Some are searching for their loved ones, while others are consumed by the agony of losing their businesses. Every eye looked wet and every face appeared drained and hopeless.
The same market where shopkeepers raised shutters every morning and the voices of bargaining echoed, today stands as a burning skeleton. Where once crowds of buyers gathered, now victims, relatives, rescue workers and onlookers stand clustered together.
The intensity of the fire has already caused part of the building to collapse.
One glance at the rubble is enough to realise the scale of the devastation. Hundreds of shops have been destroyed.
It is clear that when a building burns, it is not only brick and metal that burn. Livelihoods, trust and the hard labour of years also burn to the ground.
The piles of debris and ash have shattered the economic lives of traders within moments.
‘Everything was here’
A middle-aged trader who had been running his business in the building for nearly two decades stood on the road looking at the charred structure on Sunday morning.
After a long silence, he uttered just one sentence: “Everything was here.”
In that single sentence lay the struggle, livelihood and hope of an entire life.
Another affected trader broke down while speaking to Dawn and pointed toward the burning building. People around him tried to console him, but every heart around seemed to be grieving.
Majid, who owned a children’s clothing shop, said he and other shopkeepers had stocked merchandise for the Eid season, but “now everything has turned to ashes.”
A dangerous design, an ageing structure
Among the public, there is also a belief that the scale of the fire is tied to the risks that had accumulated over time.
Gul Plaza is among the commercial centres of Karachi built decades ago. Over the years, thousands of shops, warehouses and stockrooms became packed into narrow corridors.
Fabrics, plastics, cardboard cartons, other goods, cramped pathways and substandard wiring created an environment that made today’s disaster unbearable.
Traders say that such calamities not only destroy wealth, but also push an entire class to stand once again before time and debt to rebuild what was lost.
