KARACHI: Illegal bus terminus in Lines Area removed
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 10: An illegal intercity bus terminus behind the Hamdard Medical Hospital in Lines Area and encroachment along the roadside up to Rainbow Centre was removed and 40 buses were impounded in an operation on Wednesday by the police on the instructions of the concerned cantonment board.
A heavy contingent of police, headed by DSP Civil Lines Kamran Rasheed, started encroachment removal operation in the morning and impounded 40 buses parked illegally besides, many pushcarts and roadside encroachment.
“We did not face any resistance and no violence broke out. We acted on the instructions of the cantonment board, which had served notices to these encroachers. We have also removed encroachment in front of the Rainbow Centre,” DSP Kamran said.
The operation to remove the illegal bus terminus was long-awaited by area people and commuters who frequently used the affected roads. However, the chief of an intercity bus operators’ association Haji Iqbal said: “We have not been informed about the removal of bus terminus. We cannot comment on the action taken to remove encroachment as it is an administrative step.”
Mr Iqbal, who appeared to be in a quandary, said: “If the government disallows the intercity bus transporters to park their buses in that area, we will take up this issue in our internal meeting and consequently we will chalk out our future course of action.”
The city government does not have a ready-to-use depot on the Super Highway for intercity buses plying on the Super Highway. The city government has inaugurated an intercity bus depot for Balochistan-bound bus operators a couple of months back and the shifting process is in progress.
EDO (Transport and Communication) Mohammad Athar said: “We have allocated 45 acres in Deh Bhitti Amri off Super Highway some 10-12 kilometres from Sohrab Goth. However, most of its part has been encroached upon. We have reclaimed 19 acres and the removal of encroachment on the remaining area is in progress.”
He said the work to construct a depot for intercity bus operators would begin after reclamation of the entire land. Mr Athar, who was unaware of the encroachment removal operation launched by a cantonment board, said the city government was trying to take back the possession of bus depots of the defunct Karachi Transport Corporation including Gulistan-i-Jauhar bus depot, Korangi bus depot, Landhi bus depot, and Model bus depot.
“We can manage to provide space to the intercity bus operators at any of the readily available space but the proper intercity bus depot off Super Highway will take time to be built,” Mr Athar added.
Rangers have occupied various bus depots like many other buildings in the metropolis. However, the spokesman for the Sindh Rangers Captain Fazal Mehmood said: “We have vacated half portion of the Gulistan-i-Jauhar bus depot and handed it over to the government. We have requested the Sindh government to allocate a proper place for us so that we can move there,” he added.
He said when Rangers came to Karachi, they did not have shelter and they had been provided places temporarily. “We have vacated 80 per cent of the occupied places after we have got a piece of land on Super Highway. We will also vacate the remaining places and buildings as soon as the Sindh government allocates the land,” he added.
Area residents, however, feared if concrete measures were not taken to accommodate the intercity bus operators at an alternative place, they would reappear.
