Drive against encroachments to be launched

Rawalpindi:Finally, Commissioner Rawal­pindi Division Liaquat Ali Chatha has taken some bold decisions for public welfare and directed the initiation of a special operation against ever-increasing encroachments not under the supervision of Municipal Officer Regulation (MOR) but under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner (DC) and City Police Officer (CPO), Rawal­pindi giving time of encroa­chment mafia to vacate city areas till August 15 otherwise, strict action will be taken against them.

It is an open ‘charge sheet’ against the poor performance of Municipal Officer Regulation (MOR) Imran Ali who has been serving in Rawalpindi for over four years and during this period over 40 per cent of encroachments have increased rather than going down. Despite all facts and figures, nobody can transfer MOR Imran Ali from Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) for over 4 years in this regard. Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chatha has also directed Chief Officer (CO) Metropolitan Corporation to immediately transfer 6 officers involved in ‘corruption’ here in the corporation.

Commissioner Rawalpindi Liaqat Ali Chatha while presiding over the anti-encroachment meeting said that a special operation is being launched under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner and CPO Rawalpindi to eliminate encroachments across the city. He said that the shopkeepers are being given time till August 15 to remove all the encroachment goods. Otherwise, after the specified deadline, the goods will be picked up. He said that confiscated material will not be returned under any circumstances and will be transferred to warehouses outside the city under the supervision of DC and CPO. Temporary encroachments will be lifted while permanent ones will be demolished, so it is advised to pick up the goods in this given time and save yourself from suffering any losses. Liaqat Ali Chatha, taking into consideration the strong concerns raised by the businessmen on the performance of municipal corporation officers. But, nobody was taking any kind of action against MCR.

The common citizens, President Anjuman-e-Tajran Shahid Ghafoor Pracha, Sharjeel Mir, Sheikh Siddique, and other people went to Commissioner’s office and showed their strong concerns about the poor performance of Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR). Commissioner Rawalpindi added that the anti-encroachment operation will only be successful if it is sustained. He further said that very soon 3,800 cameras of the Safe City project will be installed across the city, which will be able to identify encroachments across the city and traffic jams caused by it immediately. He asked the representatives of Anjuman Tajaran to make continuous announcements about this operation in their respective markets and also distribute pamphlets as no one will be spared after the given deadline. Commissioner Rawal­pindi said that night bazaar and separate places will be allocated for carts so that their business is not affected, however, no one can be allowed to encroach on the right of way in the main bazaars. He said that this time the operation will be conducted indiscriminately in all the markets and the location of the operation will be known only to DC and CPO.

All major markets and bazaars of the city are flowing with encroachments and traffic congestion. The areas of Raja Bazaar, Narankari Bazaar, Barra Bazaar, Dalgaran Bazaar, Mochi Bazaar, Namak Mandi Bazaar, Lal Haveli Bazaar, Sarafa Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Iqbal Road, Commercial Market, Sadiqabad Bazaar, Muslim Town Bazaar, Khayaban Bazaar, Adiala Road Bazaars, and several other localities were packed with encroachment mafia but government officials are seeing the whole drama with closed eyes. Who will take up this issue seriously, who will clean this city, and who will take action against officers of the MCR regulation department who were fully backing the encroachment mafia for years, the citizens said.