KMC gives allotment papers to affected owners of 297 Light House flea market shops

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar said on Wednesday he would again request Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to ensure that vendors and hawkers could respectfully earn a livelihood after losing their business places in the anti-encroachment drive carried out on the directive of the Supreme Court

He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation was providing all possible support to these shopkeepers. Had an action been taken against the wrong allotments in the past, he said, the situation would not have reach this point.

He expressed these views while speaking at a balloting ceremony held in the KMC Head Office for providing alternate business places to those who were affected in the anti-encroachment action at Lunda Bazaar, Light House.

Deputy mayor Syed Arshad Hasan, metropolitan commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman, MQM parliamentary leader in the city council Aslam Shah Afridi, All City Tajjir Ittehad chairman Hakeem Shah, vice chairman M Shakir, KMC’s estate committee chairman Nasir Taimuri, senior director estate department Imran Qadeer and others were also present on this occasion.

Representatives of shopkeepers and traders thanked the mayor and his team for their rehabilitation. The mayor said a total of 2,552 trades affected in the campaign to remove encroachments from city drains, pavements and parks. He said 2,290 had been provided with alternate places and the rest of them would also be accommodated soon.

“The balloting for 297 shops of Lunda Bazar at Light House is being held today to provide them place on a land near Thatta bus stop at Lea Market,” he said. The mayor said it was a tough call to remove these traders who were doing their business for a long time.

“However from the first day we had a resolve to provide them alternate places so they could carry on feeding their families,” he added. Akhtar said city traders had had a major contribution in the national economy and especially the trader’s community in Karachi provided a major chunk in the national exchequer in the form of taxes.

“It was unfortunate that the Sindh government, despite making a commitment, never helped us in providing alternate pales to these traders and instead all blame for their dislocation was put on the city administration,” he added. He said the city markets have had shopkeepers from different casts and creeds, while Pakhtuns have had a major role in the development of Karachi.

He also announced considering the suggestion of traders regarding establishment of big shopping centres with the collaboration of city traders so the government land could be saved from encroachments. Later on, the mayor, the deputy mayor, the metropolitan commissioner and others performed the balloting and gave allotment papers to shopkeepers.

Speaking on the occasion, metropolitan commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman said it was a hard job to rehabilitate these traders “but the KMC worked under the vision of the mayor and soon all dislocated traders would get alternate places”.

The chairman of all the Karachi Tajjir Ittehad, Hakeem Shah, thanked the mayor and his team for providing alternate business places to the shopkeepers of the Lunda Market.