Several illegal structures razed as KMC resumes operation

On the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has once again initiated its anti-encroachment operation in three districts of the city.

According to director anti-encroachment of the corporation, Bashir Siddiqui, the anti-encroachment operation was kicked off in District East’s Jamshed Division near the Teen Hatti flyover on Tuesday.

Heavy machinery was used in the operation in which several structures on the footpaths were removed. “As many as seven illegal shops on footpaths and roads were destroyed in the area,” he said and added that 40 to 50 stalls, cabins of betel, galleries protruding out on streets, food kiosks, hotel items such as tables on footpaths were all removed. Several pushcarts, chairs and tables on the footpaths, he said, were destroyed and a few were also confiscated by the corporation.

Additional director anti-encroachment Shakir Zaki, according to a statement from the department, was monitoring the operation. Two people were arrested during the operation. Meanwhile, in District Central, the operation was carried out in New Karachi’s FJ Area. “Different kinds of encroachments in the area on footpaths and roads were removed,” he said and added that 11 shops were also destroyed.

There tea shops in the area, which had been operating on the road and footpaths, and all chairs and tables of such shops were destroyed, he said. In District South, the operation was carried out in the Garden area where several shops were removed which had reemerged on footpaths after they had been removed a few months ago.

Cabins of welfare organisations such as Edhi and Chipa also made a comeback on footpaths, which were all removed. These operations, he said, would continue on a daily basis in the city.

In the light of the orders passed by the Supreme Court, the corporation had clamped down on welfare organisations such as Edhi, Chhipa, Saylani and Alamgir Welfare Trust in June this year.

Its anti-encroachment department prepared a strategy to get rid of these organisations’ cabins, offices, dastarkhawans [places where welfare organisations feed the poor] and emergency response centres set up on footpaths across the city.

The corporation also removed traffic police posts from footpaths and roads in District South after issuing the Karachi Traffic Police with notices in June. The Frere Hall Traffic Police Chowki, Zainab Market Traffic Police Chowki and PIDC Traffic Police Chowki were razed as part of the operation.