The proof of financial losses in the post-Dec 27 riots has created confusion for people who need to claim compensation from the government and town administrations and some political parties.
The city government has set up complaint centers as well as a special counter on the ground floor of Civic Center for loss data collection but the towns, under the direction of City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, are also doing the job. The city government’s centers are asking for possession documents of damaged property including offices, shops, factories and houses and a copy of an FIR is required to claim any compensation for burnt vehicles.
Some town administrations have expanded this list to include cases of stolen mobile phones, mugging and physical abuse. The towns have asked people to submit medical reports from local doctors.
An official of Landhi Town who chose to remain anonymous told Daily Times that scores of incidents of mugging and physical abuse of commuters took place in Landhi. “We have been requesting people to lodge their complaints with the relevant information such as medical reports and FIRs of damages and personal information at the complaint center set up by the town administration,” he said.
A resident of Landhi Masroor Ahmed complained about the attitude of police officials who were reluctant to register his FIR and insisted on initial reports. “The police are saying it is not worth registering an FIR and it is best to forget the damage of thousands of rupees,” he said. Masroor lost his vehicle in Quaidabad on December 28 when a dozen masked young men stopped his car, threw him to the ground and burnt his vehicle.
Beside Landhi, many other towns have also taken measures to collect the data on losses and set up complaint centers. Sources in the city government told Daily Times on Monday that the process began last week. But so far neither the provincial government nor the city government has announced any policy. “Presently, our focus is to collect data and prepare a comprehensive report to forward to the provincial government,” he said.
According to the initial reports, they have collected data on 982 torched vehicles, including motorcycles and cars and 259 private and public properties such as petrol stations, offices and shops.
According to the DCO Karachi office, 1,120 vehicles were burnt and 232 properties were damaged including 58 banks, 28 government offices, 80 shops, 2 police stations, 25 petrol stations, 32 industrial units, and 9 offices of different political parties. District Officer Mukarram Bukhari told Daily Times that the initial report of data is based on the information collected from police stations all over the city as well as the deputy district officers of the city government and the revenue department.
The city government has published advertisements on various newspapers and the process of collecting data will continue for another couple of weeks. “The policy to disburse compensation to the people who suffered financial loss and to the families of those who lost their lives will be announced by the Federal Government Commission. We have no information on this issue but we are doing our job to collect data in full swing,” said Bukhari.
Political parties have also started collecting data. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has been collecting applications for the last four days at a central cell set up at Nine Zero. Media coordinator for the party Saif Abbas told Daily Times that the people affected during the three-day riots in the city are pouring in to the complaint cell to register their losses. “So far thousands of applications have been submitted,” he said.
The Pakistan Muslim Leauge-Q has also been doing the job of collecting data on losses through advertisements. Party worker Mian Abdul Sattar told Daily Times that they have collected information on 60 to 70 cases reported throughout Sindh. He also said that the data will be publicized within the next couple of days.
The Awami National Party had also set up different cells in various areas especially in Pukhtoon dominated areas to collect data on damaged vehicles, offices, shops and other properties. “Complaint centers for the benefit of affected people have been set up in Keamari, Baldia, Site, Sohrab Goth and all other Pukhtoon dominated areas,” a party official said.
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