KARACHI, Nov 1: Having no regard for pedestrians’ right to use footpaths, the Gulberg Town administration has sold out two footpaths — one along the Bazaar-i-Faisal and the other along the (ladies-only) Meena Bazaar — in Karimabad to vendors.
More than 120 cabins have already been set up across the pavements and all along the main Karimabad Road, leaving a space of hardly two/three feet at various places for pedestrians to walk between the cabins and the adjacent shops.
Amazingly, the administration itself has put up a number of banners and boards in the whole town with the inscription ‘Footpaths are meant for pedestrians’. However, its officials are bent upon usurping the pedestrians’ rights to use footpaths by allowing traders and hotel-owners to do their business on footpaths.
As the cabins have two openings, one facing the footpath and the other the main road, one may see people busy shopping while standing on the main road amid heavy traffic movement. Besides, a number of cabin-holders have put up tables in front of their respective cabins, thereby creating obstacles in the movement of pedestrians.
Presence of stall-holders between shops and cabins has further created a chaotic condition at both the pavements, making it impossible for shoppers, particularly women, to pass through such heavily encroached upon footpaths without being pushed around by pick-pockets or eve-teasers.
Although a number of such incidents have already been reported, soon after the cabins were set up, the town administration is least bothered about such wretched activities as it seems more interested in generating revenues from the business on footpaths.
Following the legacy of the defunct KMC’s former military administrator, who had allowed hotels, barbecues and fast-food outlets to put up their paraphernalia on footpaths on payment of ‘land-use charges’, the Nazim of Gulberg Town, too, has legalized the business on footpaths not only in Karimabad but also at other places in the town.
Though the sources in the town administration claim that they have sold the newly set up cabins to ‘patharadars’ (sellers without a shop/stall), a number of patharadars said that since they could not afford buying such cabins, some middle-men after purchasing the cabins from the administration, were now reselling them at exorbitant prices.
A visit to Shahrah-i-Pakistan, particularly from Aisha Manzil to Water Pump traffic intersections, would show that hotels and fast-food restaurants have made it a practice that they serve their customers on footpaths by putting chairs and tables for them. On the one hand, a major portion of footpaths, situated in front of shops have been heavily encroached upon by cars show-rooms, denters and painters and Sheermal outlets and, on the other, those footpaths which are situated between traffic islands and service roads, remain occupied with chairs and tables belonging to roadside hotels and fast-food restaurants.
Besides, all the three sheltered bus stops, situated at Water pump, Yousuf Plaza and Aisha Manzil are fast turning in to shops.
To add further hardships to pedestrians and motorists, various important turnings and narrow streets of Federal B Area usually remain occupied by pushcarts selling fruits and other eatables.
Such encroachments which could be seen at different streets of Federal B Area’s blocks 7 and 14 and their turnings, have become a major source of traffic congestion.
KARACHI, Nov 1: Having no regard for pedestrians’ right to use footpaths, the Gulberg Town administration has sold out two footpaths — one along the Bazaar-i-Faisal and the other along the (ladies-only) Meena Bazaar — in Karimabad to vendors.
