KHYBER: The district administration removed illegal taxi and bus stands, pushcarts and kiosks operating along the main road passing through the Bara Bazaar during an anti-encroachment operation here on Friday.

Assisted by the police and the tehsil municipal administration officials, Bara assistant commissioner Naveed Ahmad led the operation.

Officials said the anti-encroachment operation was conducted on the complaints of traders and consumers as it had become difficult to move through the bazaar due to illegal taxi stands, pushcarts and kiosks along the main road.

The officials claimed that a plan had been chalked out to prevent encroachers from reoccupying the spaces. They said that the illegal taxi stands, kiosks and pushcarts disrupted traffic flow through the bazaar, causing inconvenience to shopkeepers and consumers.

Meanwhile, the additional deputy commissioner paid a visit to the bazaar after the anti-encroachment operation and said nobody would be spared if they dared establish any illegal taxi stand along the busy road.

He said that the district administration was also planning to demolish all the ‘hard structures’ constructed illegally over the state land.

Said Ayaz, a trader, said taxi stands and pushcarts should be designated a separate place for doing business in order to overcome the encroachment issue on a permanent basis.

He also demanded of the TMA officials to withdraw certain taxes they had imposed over shopkeepers in Bara in recent months.

He said that most of traders were yet to recover from the shocks they had suffered during militancy and could not afford paying such taxes.

The trader also accused the food authority officials of issuing notices to restaurant owners and those dealing in edibles, and also demanding bribes from them.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2025