Drive against encroachments reaches Arambagh, Lighthouse

The ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the city entered the third week on Monday as several illegal shops and encroachments were removed at two of the famous markets in the old city area – Arambagh and Lighthouse also known as Lunda Bazaar. This was the second major action taken by anti-encroachment teams after they cleared the historical Empress Market and its surroundings of encroachments.

Nearly 350 shops at the furniture market in Arambagh and 450 shops at Lighthouse were razed by the anti-encroachment teams with the help of heavy machinery. The operation was monitored by Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Syed Saif ur Rehman who said illegal structures were being removed on the directives of the Supreme Court and no one would be allowed to encroach upon even an inch of space.

The metropolitan commissioner said a total of 175 shops were registered with the estate department of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at the Arambagh market and 297 shops were registered at the Lunda Bazaar. However, shopkeepers had divided the shops at both the markets due to which the actual number of shops operating in the Arambagh market and Lunda Bazaar were 450 and 350 respectively.

According to Dr. Rehman, the district administration, Rangers, police, cantonment boards, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, Sui Southern Gas Company and K-Electric were coordinating with the KMC in the anti-encroachment drive.

Commenting on the operation, Director Anti-Encroachments Bashir Siddiqi told The News that illegal shops at Lunda Bazaar were constructed 35 years ago on a nullah and their removal would streamline the drain.

Siddiqi maintained that shopkeepers who were doing business at illegal shops had been issued notices a month ago to vacate their shops but they ignored the warning. The drive faced some resistance at both the markets; however, law enforcement agencies were able to control it, he said.

KCR restoration

In the meantime, Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shalwani has ordered all the deputy commissioners (DC) of Karachi to immediately start action to restore the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) as it was a key mass transit project for Karachi.

Shalwani took a whirlwind tour of 29 kilometres of the KCR track and directed the DCs to take immediate measures to remove encroachments on both sides of the track. It was an order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that the KCR track be cleared of encroachments, he said.

The commissioner told the DCs to ensure that all commercial activities and bushes along the KCR track are removed. He also met officials of the Pakistan Railway and asked them to play their part in the restoration of the KCR. The KCR would hopefully be the cheapest transport for the people of Karachi, the commissioner remarked.

Mayor meets traders

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar has asked various traders’ associations of markets to submit names and contact numbers of two focal numbers so that the authorities may notify them before carrying out an anti-encroachment operation in their markets.

The development came during a meeting between the mayor and a delegation of the Sindh Tajir Ittehad led by its chairman Jamil Paracha. The mayor said in the first phase of the anti-encroachment drive, all illegal structures were being removed from pavements and drains. Shopkeepers must not allow anyone to establish encroachments in front of their shops, he added.

Representatives of various market associations said they supported the action against encroachments. They assured Akhtar that they would themselves remove encroachments if municipal bodies identified them. According to the mayor, following the order of the Supreme Court was a responsibility of the government, under which no one could be allowed to establish encroachments on footpaths, parks, playgrounds and drains. We want to restore the beauty of Karachi and facilitate its people and traders, Akhtar said. The city is being cleaned and mistakes committed in the past rectified, he added.