School razed, water connections severed as KCR operation resumes in District West

After a gap of 12 days, the anti-encroachment operation to clear the Karachi Circular Railway’s (KCR) right of way resumed on Wednesday in the SITE area where a school and more than 10 illegal water connections were destroyed.

More than four kilometres of the KCR track were cleared of encroachments in SITE. The Supreme Court on May 9 had given 15 days to the Pakistan Railways to clear at least 50-foot width along both sides of the railway track and hand it over to the Sindh government, which was told to operationalise the KCR in another 15 days.

During Wednesday’s operation, over-50-year-old SITE Model Government School was razed to the ground and the local railway track which was buried under around 2.5-foot rubble was recovered. During the cleaning work of the rubble, over 10 illegal water lines emerged, which were all disconnected.

Pakistan Railways Property and Land Deputy Director Sanaullah said the KCR track in District East and District Central had already been cleared. “We are trying to get District West’s track vacated as soon as possible,” he said, adding that in their next phase of the operation, they would clear the track between the City Railway station and Cantt station in District South.

A total of seven kilometres of the track in District West, he said, was still to be cleared. “In the SITE area, there is a school and a petrol pump in their right of way,” he said and maintained that both of them would be demolished.

The operation in the Site area would continue to the petrol pump in Gulbai, he said. Meanwhile, SITE Association’s focal person Owais Iqbal said they were never informed about the operation. “We weren’t served with any notice,” he said, adding that they already had a legal notice from the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) for the water lines that were demolished.