Gujjar Nullah operation gets new impetus

Karachi
Hundreds of houses built on the Gujjar Nullah were demolished on Wednesday by the anti-encroachment staff of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in the presence of chief minister’s advisor for inspection and implementation Muzaffar Ali Shujra.
A heavy contingent of police had been deployed in the surrounding vicinity for this purpose because the KMC staff have in the recent past faced stiff resistance from the residents.
Talking to The News, KMC’s director anti-encroachment Mazhar Khan said the provincial government and the civic authority was adamant on weeding out illegal occupation from the city.
He said KMC administrator Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqi had warned all the encroachers to vacate the occupied the areas on land of storm water drains on their own, or they would have to be removed by force.
He said due to the ongoing operation the width of the Gujjar Nullah had now been increased to 100 feet, ensuring smooth drainage of rain water through the nullah.
He said encroachment on storm water drains were causing serious problems to the citizens and also resulted in choking of sewerage lines.
Khan said encroachments were the biggest hurdle in the smooth flow of water in storm water drains. In the old days, he said, the Gujjar Nullah was a source of irrigation water for the farmers who grew fruit and vegetables in the city.
The leases of houses inhibited by about 29,000 families were cancelled since the government claimed they had obtained them via illegal means.
Meanwhile, KMC administrator Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui while commenting on the matter said it had not been decided yet whether the families would be provided alternate land or not.
On the other hand, the residents whose houses have been demolished refuse to move from the area in the hopes that they would be provided with alternate land.