RAWALPINDI: Last month, the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) launched an anti-encroachment campaign claiming to clear Raja Bazaar and adjoining bazaars of all sorts of encroachments to ensure smooth traffic flow.

But the campaign ended up as just an anti-motorcycle drive. On the other hand, no action was taken against traders who had extended their shops to footpaths and roadsides.

A senior official of the RMC told Dawn that there was pressure from traders on Mayor Sardar Naseem as over 80pc shopkeepers in Raja bazaars and adjoining areas belonged to the ruling PML-N. As a result, the mayor could not take action against the traders.

“The Punjab government also had asked the RMC not to create problems for the ruling party when general elections were approaching as the PML-N could not afford a protest by traders,” he said, adding the operation in Raja Bazaar ended without improving the traffic flow.

During week-long campaign, RMC officials focused only on wrongly parked motorcycles

He said the RMC moved the drive to Commercial Market and Sadiqabad without improving the situation in Raja Bazaar.

The official said instead of clearing basements of commercial plazas for parking and illegal structures on main roads and footpaths, the RMC officials remained busy in lifting motorcycles from shopping centres.

During the weeklong anti-encroachment drive, the RMC lifted more than 300 motorcycles and asked the traffic police to impose fines on the owners as the RMC had no authority to lift any vehicle.

However, a traffic police official on the condition of anonymity said the RMC officials had asked the traffic police to impose more than Rs1,000 fine on each motorcycle which had been lifted during the drive.

“We have no authority to impose more than Rs200 fine on a motorcycle found wrongly parked,” he said, adding the action of the RMC was irrational and beyond its limits.

When contacted, Chief Municipal Officer Khalid Javed Goraya said the anti-encroachment drive had been moved to Commercial Market and Sadiqabad on the demand of the local residents.

“On Saturday, the RMC lifted more than 10 motorcycles parked in front of Dubai Plaza and Ummair Plaza at Commercial Market and eight motorcycles from Midway Plaza on 6th Road. However, the local shopkeepers assured the officials that they would not allow wrong parking of motorcycles in the area in future,” he said.

To a question, he said the traffic situation in Commercial Market had improved after lifting the motorcycles. “We launched the operation after consultation with shopkeepers and there is no encroachment in the area,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2018