SUKKUR: The ongoing anti-encroachment drive and arrest of some traders has caused a friction between the Sukkur district administration and Mayor Arsalan Shaikh, who on Sunday warned the deputy commissioner against penalising the suspects and meddling in the affairs of his municipal corporation.

The dispute surfaced amid widespread complaints made over several weeks by members of the general public and certain quarters within the local businessman community about alleged neglect of the city on the part of the mayor ever since he assumed the charge.

The district administration had launched a major anti-encroachment campaign in the market, bazaar and commercial areas of the city following widespread complaints of traffic mess as well as congestion on roads and pavements. A number of traders and vendors found responsible for the problem were arrested.

Mayor Arsalan Shaikh took notice of the arrests and asked the district administration not to “interfere” in the affairs of the municipal corporation.

He warned the deputy commissioner, as well as the assistant commissioner leading the drive, against penalising the arrested suspects.

“The bureaucrats will be booked if they maltreated traders in future,” he was quoted as telling the district administration.

A spokesman for the mayor said that “excesses against the business community and vendors will not be tolerated”.

However, when the Assistant Commissioner, Ali Raza Ansari, was contacted to seek his comment, he said that action against the suspects was taken in accordance with the Anti-encroachment Act, 2011, and insisted that the DC and he were fully authorised to remove encroachments and retrieve the state-owned property.

“The campaign is aimed at providing relief to the general public facing problems due to the illegal occupation of roads and pavements,” he said, adding that those found responsible for the problems should face action.

Regarding the mayor’s reservations, he said the administration was working within its domain and the mayor should also do the same.

He said what was being done as part of the campaign was in the greater interest of general public. “People should cooperate with the district administration in this regard,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2016