The source confided to the Business Recorder that the lowering of the spirits have been caused by the possibility of more earthquakes in the country, especially in the mega city of Karachi, and uncertainty about the building standards.
There was complete absence of the check and balance practices in the institutions that were endowed with the responsibility of being the guardians of building standards- both in its structure and the architectural designs.
The buyers trust in the high rise buildings was further dented by the fall of the Margalla Towers, a prestigious and posh high-rise apartment building in Islamabad. They are aghast to see a building go down like a pack of cards in the capital of the country. The residents of the tower were from the top echelon of the society. The concern increases for the high rise buildings with poor planning and substandard material and owned by the middle and lower middle classes.
The reports of the earthquake areas, the fault lines, seismology, tremors, etc were jargons for the general public before has invited considerable curiosity, interest and will to know more about such things. They want to know if their houses are built in the standard material, are the architect and planning all right and is the area earthquake-free or on the fault lines.
Many builders contacted by the Business Recorder expressed their concern about their business. They were of the opinion that the situation was very delicate and difficult to decide upon more building venture the haze clears and things come to normal. In the meantime they are having their fingers crossed with assumed magnanimity and a sense of indecision.
The prospective buyers are sad about the grand scale destruction caused by the earthquakes and have lost their faith in the builders and the building control authorities. They fear that their lifelong earnings could simply go down the drain by the pathetic neglect of the authorities and they prefer to adopt a wait and see policy.
The arrest of a high ranking officials of Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) has caused ripples in the building industry and the buyers are say they are vindicated by this arrest. It shows that the KBCA is mired in corruption and it can not be trusted with the role of 'Building Watcher'. Some in the building industry think that a few more heads would roll soon in KBCA.