Daily Times

A cultural heritage building in Karachi’s Bolton Market area allegedly occupied by an influential land grabber in collusion with the Sindh Building Control Authority’s officials.

According to sources, the cultural heritage building situated at Plot No. 1, Sheet No. BR-2, in Karachi’s Bolton Market area adjacent to Cloth Market has been allegedly occupied by a builder named Muhammad Kashif in collusion with the Sindh Building Control Authority’s officials consolidated his ownership with forged documents.

Sources further said initially the builder demolished the back site of the building and started construction work. Later, he demolished the rest of the building and constructed a multi-storey structure.

Nowhere is this fact more evident than the city’s southern district, which hosts the largest concentration of buildings from British colonial times, many of which have already been declared as protected sites.

An unprecedented population increase, unplanned urbanization, illegal land occupation and lack of government’s attention as key factors behind the city’s crumbling architectural treasures.

Karachi’s population was only 400,000 at the time of partition but now it has already crossed 15 million, according to official estimates, and over 20 million as per unofficial estimates.