‘Balloting of shops for affected traders to begin within a week’
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KARACHI: Mayor of Karachi Wasim Akhtar said on Thursday that work on providing alternative shops to traders affected by the anti-encroachment operation would begin within a week.
“Balloting will be held in the Commissioner Karachi office in the presence of two representatives each from markets and they will be given an opportunity to do their business in a transparent manner, and officers who promoted encroachments will be identified too,” he said.
He expressed these views while speaking to the members of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on a visit of the KCCI office. Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman and other KMC officers with office-bearers of the KCCI were also present on the occasion.
Mr Akhtar said that his party suffered the most and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation lost revenue because of the anti-encroachment campaign.
He said that balloting for alternative shops for affected shopkeepers would be held next week in the commissioner’s office. “We will give alternative spaces to our tenants, this being a human issue and we will not leave these people helpless,” he said.
The mayor said the Supreme Court had directed them to complete the removal of encroachments in the city within 15 days and added “but we asked for a month’s time”.
He said all those who utilised government land wrongly would get nothing. “The KMC had given them 4x4 feet shops and they did all illegal and wrong works like establishing hotels, warehouses and ice factories, which was not right in any way,” he added.
He said that the weekly report of anti-encroachments would be submitted to the apex court on Friday.
He said a hawkers’ zone should be established for pushcart owners and other such vendors so they would also have an opportunity to earn respectable livelihood. “I have limited powers and am still working on improvement in the city,” he added.
The mayor also asked the KCCI to donate or help in removing the debris in the city.
He said Karachi should get water and gas according to its needs as progress in Karachi would mean progress of the country.
Earlier, KCCI president Junaid Ismail presented the welcome address. Siraj Kassam Teli, Zubair Motiwala and A.Q. Khalil also spoke.
Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2018
