Pak factory fire: Rs 500 penalty for 314 lives lost!

Islamabad: The factory owner in Karachi will have to pay a measly Rs 500 penalty for negligence, said a media report after nearly 300 people were killed in a blaze in Pakistan`s port city.

Under the Factory Act 1934, the owner will have to pay only Rs 500 in penalty over negligence in the protection of workers, Geo News reported on Friday. Changes had been made in the Factory Act 1934 that had been promulgated during British rule. But it was not completely changed. The Act states that if the factory owner commits negligence second time, the penalty will be Rs 750 and the penalty will be increased to Rs 1,000 in third time. The fire in a garments factory in Karachi on Tuesday broke out just hours after another blaze engulfed another factory in Lahore. The combined toll crossed 300. The Karachi fire was one of the worst industrial infernos in the country. IANS