Mayor vows to rid city of encroachments

Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar has reaffirmed his commitment to raze all encroachments built on the city’s thoroughfares and arteries.

Talking to The News on Tuesday, he said strict actions were being taken against encroachers and, particularly, illegal settlements would soon be removed from roads leading to the Mauripur area from Hasan Square.

“All sort of encroachments along main roads and pavements will be soon demolished,” he vowed. “Nobody will be given a chance to rebuild illegal settlements that cause traffic jams in the metropolitan.”

Recently, push carts, trolleys and cabins were removed from the Lea Market, Machchi Mayani Market, Kharadar areas during an anti-encroachment operation, he said. Akhtar said he had ordered the anti-encroachment and land departments to not let anybody build illegal settlements across the city.

The old city areas were suffering the most because of encroachments as it had virtually become impossible to drive through the areas without encountering traffic snarls, he added.The mayor also appealed to the citizens to cooperate in the anti-encroachment drive. “We should join hands to rid the city of all kind of illegal settlements and encroachments.”