Karachi police stations being run from pushcarts’ money, says SC

KARACHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to remove encroachments from public parks, observing that police stations were being run from collection money received from pushcarts and encroachments.

Hearing the petition of Shakardin against removal of his cabin in the Lea market area, the court observed that many areas of the city, including Saddar, were full of encroachmentsat roads and footpaths with active connivance of the KMC staff and police and no authority bothered to remove these encroachments.

The court observed that SHOs of police stations allow encroachments in their areas and received their share from such encroachments on footpaths and public parks.

The court observed that KMC had leased out footpaths for installation of generators and rented out public parks for private functions. The court inquired from the KMC law officer as whether rent received from cabins was deposited in national exchequer or pockets of KMC officers.

The KMC law officer said that KMC received rent from vendors for installation of cabins in respective areas. The SC’s two-member bench, headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, directed the KMC to remove encroachments from public parks and dismissed the application of the applicant who sought alternative space for installing his cabin in the Lea market area.