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Thursday March 28, 2024

KMC begins razing traffic police sub-stations under anti-encroachment drive

By Oonib Azam
June 21, 2019

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has directed the section officers (SOs) of three traffic police sub-stations in District South to remove the traffic police kiosks from footpaths and roads of the district.

The KMC issued the directives in letters to the SOs of the Frere Hall Traffic Police Chowki, Zainab Market Traffic Police Chowki and PIDC Traffic Police Chowki. The letters’ subject was “Notice under Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act, 2010”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the traffic police staff deployed at these sub-stations manage the traffic of the city’s business hub, the Saddar area. The Frere Hall and the PIDC traffic police kiosks manage traffic around the Chief Minister House and the Governor House and also control the traffic moving to and from Sharea Faisal in front of COD.

“Whereas, you [Frere Hall Chowki’s SO] have encroached upon government land near Metropole Hotel and constructed traffic police Chowki illegally and thus committed offence U/s 3 of Sindh Public Property (Removal of Encroachment) Act 2010,” the letter read, directing the SO to remove the encroachment and clear the site within seven days or else the KMC itself would remove it. Similar letters were written to the SOs of the other two kiosks.

Operational since 1976

The traffic police authorities seem to be perturbed by the KMC’s letters as they believe removing the aforementioned kiosks would negatively affect the working of the traffic police.

Speaking to The News, Traffic DIG Javed Mehar said the Frere Hall Traffic Police Chowki had been operational at the same site since 1976. “These traffic police sub-stations are not for commercial use, we serve public through these Chowkis,” he said, adding that if the traffic police kiosks were established at points which were away from the traffic sites, the police would not be able to control the traffic properly.

The officer explained that a meeting would be held today (Friday) to discuss the matter. He, however, admitted that as per the Supreme Court’s order, the traffic police were required to remove their stations from the footpaths and roads.

“We will see how many of the stations are actually on the footpaths and roads in violation of the Supreme Court’s order, and will remove them accordingly,” he said, adding that the traffic police, however, would not remove those stations, to which the apex court’s did not apply, and get consent of all the stakeholders so that they could continue running such stations.

No free alternatives

Meanwhile, KMC Director Anti-Encroachment Bashir Siddiqi told The News that they had already demolished five police kiosks on Thursday in District East. Two of the Chowkis, he said, were in Mehmoodabad, as many in the Tariq Road area and one in Sindhi Muslim Society.

The KMC had been carrying out the anti-encroachment drive in compliance with the SC orders, he said, adding that removal of traffic police kiosks from roads and footpaths was part of the drive and letter to remove them had been despatched to the relevant officers. When asked if the KMC would provide the traffic police alternative spaces that would not be in violation of the SC order, Siddiqi said that whatever space they would provide to the traffic police would violate the apex court’s order.

It is best for the traffic police to get their sub-stations on rent, the KMC director advised.

Drive continues

Sharing details of Thursday’s operation, Siddiqi said they removed the Hawai Bakery on Tariq Road which had blocked the entire street while in Sindhi Muslim Society, sunshades and encroachments of all the shops and restaurants were removed. “Whatever encroachments in these areas were on footpaths were removed,” he said, adding that the offices of welfare organisations in the vicinity were also demolished with heavy machinery.

On Friday (today), he said, the KMC had planned a massive anti-encroachment operation at bungalows constructed on the land of the Kidney Hill Park. The under-construction bungalows on the park’s land, he said, would be razed and the buildings that had been inhabited would be served with a 30-day notice.