Baffled victims reluctant to show actual losses

KARACHI Victims of the Boulton Market inferno, triggered after Ashura procession blast on MA Jinnah Road are, surprisingly, reluctant to show their actual losses they suffered, The Nation learnt on Sunday.
According to the police report, at least 330 wholesale dealers have lost their shops and merchandise in the mayhem that resulted in the killing of 44 people and causing injuries to over 100.
A survey conducted by The Nation revealed that the affected persons, who dealt in different commodities like cosmetics, medicines, perfumes, watches, plastic crockery, cigarette lighters and stationary had not only lost their shops but warehouses as well.
Umar, one of the affectees, told The Nation, that the fire was disastrous for the economy of the country because these markets served the entire country. He pointed out that a 10x10 shop had the capacity to house merchandise worth about Rs1 million. The fire was an attack on the backbone of countrys financial hub and its repercussions would surface in two or three months.
Another victim, who wished not to be named, said it is true that the losses were beyond imagination but the victims were unable to get compensation because they all were importers and 99 per cent of the imported goods were non-custom paid.
He said the stuff imported from China, Afghanistan and Iran was non-custom paid so how could they claim and establish their losses because they had not any invoice. If we show the actual losses, we would be trapped automatically, he expressed his apprehension.
He pointed out that the issue is being politicised and the government seemed willing to pay compensation to the victims. But how can we claim the goods which we import through Hawala and without any bank transaction, he elaborated.
He said most of the victims have started re-constructing shops on self-help basis and the rest would do so within the next few days. He feared that the fund-raising programme for paying compensation would be misused.
He said most of the shop-owners reached the spot on time and managed to recover their 50 to 60 percent stuff but those who came late, were unable to recover their goods. He also pointed out that billions of rupees in cash were also present in the shops because there were number offices of Hawala business, so how could they claim for their burnt cash.
To a query, he said religious scholars and clerics, belonging to various schools of thought, were raising the issue because the shop owners were big donors to these religious parties. He said majority of the shopkeepers were religious minded and had grown beards, who in routine provided funds to religious organisations and even to the Taliban.
The issue was politicised and the blame game has started. Interestingly, for the first time, religious scholars and clerics of various schools of thought have taken up the issue and demanded immediate compensation to the victims.
However, not a single leader or cleric visited the houses of those who lost their lives. Some of the families lost their four or five members in the mayhem but the politicians and clerics frequently visited the burnt markets.