KARACHI, March 17: Police are often employed in different anti-encroachment drives carried out by the city government, but the police department itself continues to encroach upon public and private land with impunity, the latest instance being the establishment of its ‘Madadgar 15’ office for Jamshed Town on Shahrah-i-Quaideen.
Financed by a private business concern, the office has been raised on the portion of the service road and its pavement in front of the Society graveyard.
Though it has not been formally inaugurated by the provincial police officer (PPO) or some other senior official, the office has become functional.
About six months back when the construction was started, a KBCA team demolished the structure of the office. Subsequently, police beat up the team members and proceeded with the reconstruction.
“This is not the only encroachment by police in Jamshed Town… the Ferozabad police post, raised on the middle island of the Tariq Road traffic intersection is a constant reminder to people that they live in a police state,” remarked a resident of PECHS.
The Yousuf Plaza police station in Gulberg Town and the phone-less Gabol Town police kiosk in New Karachi Town are the latest additions in the long list of encroachments by police.
Initially, the Yousuf Plaza police post was set up in the Allama Iqbal School, but after being removed from the schools premises, it has been built on the encroached upon land of Dhobi Ghat.
In Gulshan Town, the Mubina Town police station stands on the plot earmarked for a dispensary/library for the residents of the Journalist Society. It has been under the occupation of police for more than a decade now.
The office of the SDPO Gulistan-i-Jauhar has also been constructed on an encroached piece of land, next to a petrol pump opposite Safari Park a few years back on the main University Road.
Similarly, a police post of the Sharea Faisal police station on the pavement near Jauhar Chowrangi has now been made a permanent structure. Until a few years back, it was a shabby structure, but gradually the post almost turned into a police station. At present, it lacks only a proper lockup.
The police station, where the highest number of FIRs pertaining to illegal occupation of land and encroachments are registered, itself stands on a piece of land occupied illegally by the police.
“The Sachal police station also stands on occupied land. The land is meant for either a school or a hospital,” pointed out a senior police officer.
Similarly, the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station has been built illegally on the land belonging to the PIA Housing Society.
Shahrah-i-Noorjahan in North Nazimabad, Super Market police station in Liaquatabad, Federal B Industrial Area police station, New Karachi Industrial Area police station and Rizvia Society police station have all been constructed on the encroached lands. With the passage of time, and due to inaction on the part of the departments concerned, an impression develops that these lands really belong to police.
To turn the matter worse, these police stations have been notified without the allocation of land.
In North Nazimabad Town, the Haidery police post has been built illegally on a piece of land belonging to a builder. However, a fire broke out recently in the nearby hutment which also destroyed the police post.
The Super Market police station in Liaquatabad has been established on a portion of the proposed road near Gujjar Nullah.
A survey carried out by Dawn shows that the police had encroached upon at least seven amenity plots of the City District Government to established police stations. These police stations are: the PIB Colony PS, Khokhrapar PS, City Courts PS, Azizabad PS and Taimuria PS, a majority of the plots involved were earmarked for market places.
According to the official data, the Korangi Industrial Area PS, Zaman Town PS, Shah Latif Town PS, Peerabad PS and Shahrah-i-Noorjahan PS have been constructed on the land belonging to the defunct Karachi Development Authority (KDA).
The Korangi Industrial Area police station has been established on the KDA plot No. ST-11, sector 6-D, earmarked for a public building. Besides, the police have also taken unlawful possession of the adjoining area, reserved for road, some commercial plots and residential plots of Mehran Town, to set up the police station.
The police have raised the structure of the Zaman Town police station by encroaching upon the residential plots of 60 square yards. The Nabi Bux police station has been built on a land belonging to the Evacuee Property Trust department of federal government.
In addition, the police have occupied at least eight privately-owned plots or buildings to convert them into police stations. The police stations established on private lands include Al-Falah PS, Model Colony PS, Mauripur PS, Baloch Colony PS, Eidgah PS, Surjani Town PS, Shershah PS and Bahadurabad PS, the last one having been housed in a bungalow. The Gadap police station has been set up in a building which was meant for a veterinary hospital.
Inquiries show that a KMC Market — spread over 6,550 square feet – had been taken over by the police in 1973. It now houses Clifton and Boat Basin police stations. Its rent had been fixed at Rs130,656 per annum for ground floor and Rs72,720 per annum for first floor.
The Pak Colony police station has been housed in the UC-6 office since May 1972. It measures 1,088 square feet and has an annual rent of Rs21,696.
The Jauharabad police station is also housed in the premises of a KMC Market, spread over 11,177 square feet, since May 1972. The Mehmoodabad police station has been established on the premises of UC-88 since 1972 and has an area measuring 2,911.62 square feet.
The police data shows that out of the total 105 police stations in Karachi, 46 have been established in rented buildings of the KMC, KDA, private parties, etc. The police department claims to have cleared the payments on account of rent, except for some of the places. Nevertheless, it would not give details of the outstanding dues in this regard.
The police department usually issues notifications for the establishment of police stations without allocating funds for acquiring lands and meeting the construction expenses. Ultimately, the lands required for such police stations are encroached upon.
It is now an established fact that every police station runs on the basis of self-generated funds coming from different sources falling in its jurisdiction. Therefore, once the police find a suitable piece of land, they move to occupy it and get things started.
KARACHI, March 17: Police are often employed in different anti-encroachment drives carried out by the city government, but the police department itself continues to encroach upon public and private land with impunity, the latest instance being the establishment of its ‘Madadgar 15’ office for Jamshed Town on Shahrah-i-Quaideen.
