DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Acting on the directives of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the district administration launched an anti-encroachment operation along the banks of the Indus River in the Thoya Fazil area of Dera Ismail Khan, targeting illegal housing colonies and unauthorised structures.

The operation was supervised by assistant commissioner Syed Muhammad Arsalan, accompanied by trainee assistant commissioners Muhammad Umair, Taimoorul Hassan, and Ms Uswah Jameela besides officials from the irrigation department, tehsil municipal administration, and revenue department were also present.

As part of the operation, 13 illegal permanent and semi-permanent structures including boundary walls, under-construction markets, rooms, houses, and foundations were demolished within the riverbed area, clearing a total of 19 kanals and 10 marlas of encroached land, and restoring the river’s natural flow.

The authorities also got cleared 10.5 kanals of land owned by the irrigation department from temporary and permanent encroachments such as lawns, railings, sitting areas, shop sheds, boundary walls, and two car wash setups.

The reclaimed land, valued at approximately Rs83.2 million, was restored to government control.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2025