KARACHI:Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday urged the shopkeepers of fire-hit Cooperative Market and Victoria Building to honestly claim their compensation and KCCI will try its best to get the affectees the funds as early as possible.
Addressing over 400 affected shopkeepers at the Chamber, Chairman, Businessmen Group M. Zubair Motiwala and President Karachi Chamber Muhammad Idrees Memon assured them full support from KCCI.
They vowed to make all-out efforts till all the shopkeepers of both markets receive compensations exactly as per losses suffered by them.
The shopkeepers were briefed about the procedure adopted by KCCI to evaluate compensation claims. Unrealistic and exaggerated compensation claims being demanded by shopkeepers was going to make things difficult and would obviously delay the overall process. Therefore, the shopkeepers must truthfully and honestly submit their claims.
Vice Chairman BMG Jawed Bilwani, General Secretary BMG AQ Khalil, Senior Vice President Abdul Rehman Naqi, Vice President Qazi Zahid Husain and KCCI Managing Committee Members were also present on the occasion.
Chairman BMG and President KCCI informed that committees led by KCCI’s Managing Committee Members had already been formed and tasked to assess all the compensation claims.
Each and every shopkeeper would have to appear before these committees to defend his claims and also take an oath to guarantee his truthfulness and honesty.
This would be followed by meticulous scrutiny. Then the cases would be recommended for release of compensation to the Sindh government’s committee in which KCCI was also being represented by M. Zubair Motiwala, Muhammad Idrees Memon Jawed Bilwani and A. Q. Khalil.
They said it was Karachi Chamber’s top most priority to complete the compensation within the earliest possible time but the shopkeepers have to be completely honest and truthful as per teachings of Islam.
They recalled that Karachi Chamber has all the expertise and experience available as this compensation evaluation process had been successfully carried out twice when the angry mob torched thousands of shops situated in Bolton Market Incident in 2009 and fire engulfed around 200 shops in Timber Market in 2015.
It was a gigantic task but thanks to dedication, sincerity and hard work done by KCCI, you would not find a single shopkeeper who had not received compensation as per losses.
While assuring full support and cooperation to the shopkeepers in distress.
KCCI leadership also appreciated the seriousness exhibited by Sindh Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, Sindh Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Sindh Minister for Industries Jam Ikramullah Khan Dharejo, Sindh Minister for Information and Labor Saeed Ghani and Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab who were keen to ensure timely release of compensation to all the affectees Cooperative Market and Victoria Building.