KARACHI, Feb 10: As Karachi is located on a fault line and substandard construction material is reported to have been used fuelling fears that there will be a great loss of lives in the event of an earthquake, the city government decided on Tuesday to establish a task force to create awareness among the masses on the issue.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal took the decision in a meeting held at his office on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Karachi District Coordination Officer Javed Hanif Khan, the EDO Municipal Services other officials and some international experts.

A team of experts briefed the nazim about the threats to the metropolis in event of an earthquake.

In the meeting, the experts informed the nazim that Karachi, being on a fault line, was under threat and there was fears that damage would be massive on account of substandard construction material used over the years and general unawareness about safety guidelines.

The nazim said that the city government was ready to take all possible steps for the safety of citizens and protection of their life and property. However, he said, that the government organisations did not have much information about the fault line or earthquake. Therefore, knowledgeable citizens and experts should extend full cooperation to government organisations, particularly the city government, in this regard.

He said that the notification to establish the task force would be issued shortly and besides government officials, international experts would also be part of the task force.

The task force, he said, would recommend advanced arrangements for hospitals and schools besides making arrangements of international standard for securing the lives of citizens while steps would also be taken to provide greater information to them.—APP