‘Clearing Aladin Park of encroachments can take months’

On the ninth and 10th day of the anti-encroachment operation of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) at the Aladin Amusement Park, major portions of the Aladin Shopping Mall and the Pavilion End Club were demolished.

According to details shared by the KMC’s anti-encroachment department, the operation was supervised by Anti-Encroachment Senior Director Bashir Siddiqui. Several landowning agencies, the Rangers and the district police participated in the operation.

The operation, according to Siddiqui, had started 10 days ago. The food complex, the Pavilion End Club and the shopping mall inside the club are being demolished on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Siddiqui said that over 120 shops of the mall have been demolished, while more of them are being torn down. The central gate of the Pavilion End Club, the security checkpoint and 10 shops of the food complex have also been demolished.

According to him, the central building of the Pavilion End Club and its various huts are being demolished. “The demolition process can take up to several months,” he pointed out.

He said that the anti-encroachment operation at the KDA (Karachi Development Authority) Club on Kashmir Road has been completed. The kitchen, wedding halls, play land, the caterer’s five warehouses and two other buildings have been demolished, said Siddiqui. He added that the rubble of the demolished building is being removed now.

Statement

AA Joyland, the management of the Aladin Park, has said in a statement that on June 14 the KMC used bulldozers on the property to demolish the 25-year-old Aladin Park and the Pavilion End Club on court orders.

They said evacuation was ordered at a few hours’ notice, leaving thousands of people unemployed. They pointed out that the park and the club on Rashid Minhas Road have been a source of entertainment for the people of Karachi for 25 years.

They said the 52-acre land was leased for an amusement park, adding that at that time the land was just an empty ground, but AA Joyland worked day and night to turn it into a full-fledged recreational area, where people could spend happy moments with their families.

But since the June 14 court ruling, the park and the club have been reduced to rubble, and billions of rupees have been squandered, they lamented.

They said the employment of over 1,000 people was affected by the demolition of the park and the club, affecting 169 employees, their 676 family members, 450 contractor employees, their 1,800 family members, 50 to 60 daily-wagers, their 240 family members, 27 trainees, 315 shopkeepers, their 1,260 family members, 700 support staff and their 2,800 family members.

They reiterated that the construction of the park and the club was not illegal. They said they have all the relevant legal documents, adding that the decision of demolition should be reconsidered.