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KARACHI, July 8: Despite the recent drive against encroachers, the encroachment is still one of the biggest problems and a thriving business in Saddar and Lyari towns.
Though the administration has achieved some positive results by removing the illegal structures and vendors occupying municipal and government lands in some areas of Saddar, M A Jinnah Road, Boulton Market, Burns Road, Machi Miani Market in Kharadar and Mithadar, but the administration has been facing a lot of difficulties to consolidate its gains as it could not receive adequate response from other government agencies.
A survey of shopping places of these towns shows that encroachers are busy in their business as usual in some parts of the town.
It is learnt that the administration has been facing strong pressures from different quarters to stop the drive against the powerful mafia, particularly from areas, including Lea Market, Juna Market, Kori Garden, Empress Market and Boulton Market.
The municipal officials responsible for anti-encroachment drive say that they are under pressure and they complain non-cooperation attitude of the other government agencies.
LYARI: The encroachers in Lyari Town have been given a free hand to do their business as usual without any fear. Lea Market, Haat Chowk, Sheedi Village Road, Karabai Karimji Road are virtually either controlled by transport mafia or “bhata mafia”, who take extortion money from vendors and hawkers.
A couple of months ago, the town administration had come out with a programme to deal with the “strong mafia”. But, the operation was stopped abruptly due to the pressure of the mafia.
The transporters, who reign supreme in the locality, have a control over all the market places, important roads, streets and congested areas of the town.
The residents of areas near Fidha Husain Shaika Road, Mir Mohammad Baloch Road, D. D. Chaudhry Road said that life had been made miserable, because of the day and night activity of the transporters and noise from auto-mechanic workshops.
They said that the municipal administration had proved that it could not face the mounting pressure of the transporters and encroacher mafia, who continued to occupy the municipal lands.
It may be mentioned here that 1,610,700 people live in Lyari Town, which covers a total area of 1,800 acres. About 70 per cent of the area is residential, 20 per cent industrial and commercial, around 8.22 per cent area is covered by clinics, hospitals, educational institutes and graveyard, while only 1.78 per cent area is covered by recreational places.
Land encroachment on the municipal and government plots is one of the major of problems in the town. A vast area of the municipal land in the Lea Market, Haat Chowk, Faqir Mohammad Dura Khan Road, Mirza Adam Khan Road, Shah Waliullah Road, Chawkiwara Road, Juna Kumarwara Road and Mauripur Road is in the control of transport mafia.
For quite some time, the residents of these localities have been demanding that transport business should be shifted from the residential areas of the town.
