Rangers, police to supervise eviction of ‘illegal’ settlers from Gujjar Nullah

Karachi
After stiff resistance and vehement protests by the people settled on the land of Gujjar Nullah, the anti-encroachment operation by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) which began last Saturday came to halt on Monday.
The residents blocked the road in front of Pyala Hotel and burnt tires on its to express their resentment and angst for the recently-begun operation to evict them from the land they claimed to have been leased from the government itself.
The KMC’s director anti-encroachment Mazhar Khan while talking to The News on Monday said the operation, being led by him and deputy commissioner Central Afzal Zaidi, was stopped till the next day due to heavy resistance from local residents.
However, he said, the anti-encroachment teams of KMC will begin the work anew on Tuesday with help from Rangers and police.
So far, said Mazhar, only those 50 to 60 houses have been demolished which directly obstructed the flow of water in the storm water drain. After this phase of demolition, he said, the width of the nullah in the area near Pyala Hotel has increased to 60 feet from constricted eight feet.
He said three to five cattle pens in the vicinity, which had been blocking the flow of water in the nullah, were also removed with the help of heavy machinery.
However, Khan said vehement protest by residents who pelted stones at the KMC staff and the police caused the anti-encroachment team to stop their operation.
The efforts will now resume on Tuesday with additional back up from the Rangers and police.
Talking about the ownership of land of Gujjar Nullah, Khan said cancellation of the lease meant that they were “invalid”. He said there was precedence in the case of Lyari Expressway in which affectees were provided alternate lands, and even if the residents approached the court it might also reach the same conclusion.
The KMC officials put the number of settled families in the Gujjar Nullah to be around 29,000. They also claimed that all the leases of their properties had been cancelled so their occupation of the land was illegal.
Two protesters Iftikhar and Sami claimed that their families had been living here for decades. They vowed they would go to all lengths and also approach the court to fight for their rights and get alternate land.
However, encroachment on the land of Gujjar Nullah is not only for residential purposes. A lot of commercial establishments are also situated on it.
The Sindh chief secretary Mohammad Siddiq Memon also said the residents had settled here illegally and had no rights on the land under any law.
Meanwhile, KMC administrator Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui said the final decision in this regard will be of the chief minister and local government minister.
He said it was yet to be decided whether the families will be provided alternate land or constructed houses. Also, he said, the estimated cost of total compensation also has to be decided. The KMC, however, plans to start this operation within four months.