Commercial activity in residential areas

RAWALPINDI : Commercial establishments are functioning out of residences in several localities of the city. Once serene residential neighborhoods, now host a number of commercial and institutional establishments that cause noise pollution in the area.

“Let us take the case of Faisal Colon and Fazal Town streets along Old Airport Road. People operate several commercial institutions from these primarily residential localities, which have no infrastructural support for commercial establishments. There is no designated parking space,” says Hasan Sadiq.

“Who wouldn’t enjoy a supermarket next door? After all, it reduces commute time, but the point is -- does the infrastructure support such a change of land use? Are the roads wide enough for parking? Is the sewage system designed for heavy usage,” questions Nafees Zaidi.

“Law violations are rampant in the city, and how it affects citizens, everybody knows. Nevertheless, why is it so easy to flout rules regarding land use? Where is the system broken,” says Ali Shanawar.

“The usual pattern generally starts with a restaurant or any other commercial establishment that operates from a house in a primary residential locality. They enter into a residential locality by offering a high rental. Who is to blame for this,” says Faisal Naqvi.

“One commercial establishment paves the way for many more, after which they write to the concerned authority to change the locality type from primarily residential to a combination of residential or commercial,” says Muhammad Hasnain.

“Even though this scribe did not get the complete answer from the department, a senior official seeking anonymity revealed that they do not carry out inspections to give licenses. Recommendations from politicians and celebrities help in getting a license,” says Muntazir Mehdi.

“Efforts to reach department officials to understand the mandated steps in the procedure of changing land use classification of various localities in the city proved futile. Residents do not realize what is happening until commercial establishments have mushroomed in their neighborhood,” says Shabbir Hussain. “Several streets in the city were converted from residential to commercial in the past five years and residents had no idea about it until the notification had been passed,” says Darian Haider, a resident of Old Airport Road.

“In order to ensure total transparency, the concerned department, besides inserting advertisements in the leading well-read dailies, must put up a huge signage at the site which is set to undergo re-classification, and seek the views of the neighborhood people, because it is they who will bear the brunt once the area is re-classified,” says Raza Abbas.

Farhan Ali says, “The persons carrying on any commercial activity in the residential sector should stop such activity and shift the same to the appropriate sectors i.e. commercial pockets in industrial areas and specified pockets for commercial use within the residential sector, strictly earmarked for that activity in the development plan.”