RAWALPINDI, April 17: The residents of Satellite Town, which the municipal authorities consider as one of the well-planned areas of the city, are faced with the problems of ever-sprouting encroachments, poor sewerage system, broken roads, dilapidated parks and contaminated water supply.

Talking to Dawn, the residents, especially those of Blocks B, D and F, complained about a host of civic problems, which show the apathy of the tehsil municipal administration (TMA).

According to the master plan, which was notified in 1953, the minimum width of roads should be 40 feet, with some extending to as much as 120 feet, an old resident of the area said.

Initially, there was a very little concept of commercialisation of the area, but with the shifting of the federal capital to its north-west in 1961 the town started becoming a hub of commercial activities and massive encroachments and violation of TMA’s building rules by businessmen and influential people became common.

According to the residents, a majority of the commercial plazas always flouted rules set by the TMA and did not reserve reasonable parking spaces in their vicinity. The once well-known Tonga Stand at the commercial market — a property of the TMA — has been converted into small shops by encroachers who have also constructed a small mosque in front of the shops in order to give a religious cover to their illegal constructions, the residents complained.

According to the master plan, the width of the main road at Block F, which connects the area to the IJ Principal Road in Pirwadhai, was about 120 feet, said Habibul Wahab, a resident of the area. But it has now been reduced to about 40 feet due to the encroachments.

He said after the recent collapse of the illegal under- construction Bano Arcade and the ever-sprouting encroachments on other roads, the involvement of the TMA officials in the illegal construction had become very clear.

The sewerage system of the locality has always remained faulty. There are no well-spaced drains on either side of the roads due to which puddles of water could be seen on various roads during rains. The recently-applied plan to channel sewage into the Nullah Leh through a big drain, starting from the 5th Road and passing through the backside of the Holly Family Hospital, is also said to be inadequate.

The residents said the level of the nullah was above the locality and rainwater gushed back to their homes causing severe problems for them.