NAROWAL: The Sialkot district administration demolished 2,196 temporary encroachments and 248 permanent structures as well as issued fines for temporary encroachments during an operation on Wednesday.

Sialkot Deputy Commissioner Saba Asghar Ali told Dawn that on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, a grand operation was underway in all four tehsils of the district against illegal encroachments.

She said the anti-encroachment team included assistant commissioners of all four tehsils, municipal corporations, municipal committees, Pera staff, sub-divisional enforcement officers, police and other departments.

The deputy commissioner said that anti-encroachment teams removed 2,196 temporary encroachments during the grand operation in Sambrial, Pasrur, Daska and Sialkot. She said that 248 permanent illegal structures had also been demolished.

She said shopkeepers and owners of residential buildings who had established temporary encroachments were warned before the operation. She said that more than 200 encroaching shopkeepers, who were previously issued warnings, had been fined over Rs1 million during the operation.

She said the district administration made announcements in mosques and markets to eliminate illegal encroachments and to remove illegal fences, parking lots, lawns and any other illegal constructions in residential areas.

Ms Saba said that vegetable and fruit sellers would not be allowed to set up their carts on the roads. She said that cart owners would only be allowed to set up carts at designated places in commercial centers. She said that carts of those who violate the rules would be confiscated and auctioned.

Meanwhile, fruit and vegetable sellers said the actions of the government was creating unemployment and forcing workers to commit suicide. Sellers Muhammad Ehsan and Qasim Ali said that they were already worried due to inflation and poverty and now the government was forcibly taking away their livelihoods.

They urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to take notice of the situation and demanded establishment of regular cart markets in every city and town.

They said that immediate steps should be taken to provide decent employment opportunities for workers.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025