Residential building declared dangerous in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar

• Families shifted belongings during urgent evacuation.
• SBCA teams inspect site for technical review.
• Police confirm re-entry subject to SBCA approval.

KARACHI: A ground-plus-four residential building in Gulistan-e-Jauhar’s Block 10 has been declared dangerous after it began sinking into the ground, with major cracks appearing in its walls and floors.

Officials from the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), police, rescue teams, and local administration had rushed to the site and began evacuating the residents on Tuesday.

According to police, the complex — Yasir Terrace — comprises three buildings, with Blocks C and D being affected. Both blocks house around 60 flats with nearly 300 residents. The ground floor of one of the buildings sank, leading to broken windows and balconies, prompting authorities to start shifting people and their belongings out.

Residents said a nullah adjacent to the complex overflowed during the rains, and the flow of water caused cracks to emerge overnight. As a result, the affected blocks were completely evacuated. Many families are moving either to their relatives’ homes or to other apartments of their friends within the residential complex.

Police officials confirmed that SBCA teams are conducting a technical assessment of the structure. They added that residents would only be allowed to retrieve belongings or reoccupy the flats if SBCA grants permission.

Later in the day, SBCA issued a sealing order for Tower D of Yasir Terrace, Block 10, declaring it a “dangerous building.”

The order stated that the premises had been sealed under the Sindh Building Control Ordinance 1979-82. It warned that anyone attempting to trespass or break the seals would be prosecuted under Section-19 of the ordinance or face other penal action permissible under the law.