KASUR: The LDA officials had to halt operation on the Shahbaz Khan Road and unseal dozens of shops defaulting on their commercialisation fee after the traders took to the streets against the crackdown on Tuesday.

The LDA says the properties were unsealed as the traders were given one week to get their properties as commercial while the authority had got affidavits the traders.

The officials of the LDA, district administration and police started sealing properties, including schools, clinics, bakeries and eateries, on the Shahbaz Khan Road. Over 100 traders and property owners gathered on the road in protest against the action and started chanting slogans against the LDA.

They dubbed the action unjustified and rued the fact the action was being taken against them at a time when the business activities were on the decline due to the Covid-19.

The traders reportedly forced the LDA officials to stop the operation and unseal their properties and hold negotiations with them.

After three hours long dialogue, the LDA officers, namely Deputy Director Muhammad Haris and Assistant Director Habibur Rehman, agreed to halt the operation and unseal the properties.

Director Commercialisation Lahore Division Ali Nusrat said the properties had been unsealed after an undertaking from the property owners that they would convert their properties into commercial ones within one week. He said the traders could pay 20pc of the fee while the remaining 80pc could be paid in installments of three years.

Mr Ali said that the aim of operation was not to harass the traders but to implement the law. He said the local municipal committee officials were still minting money by misguiding the traders.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2020