KARACHI, Feb 18: More than 300 old graves have been demolished in a vast area of the centuries-old Morroro Graveyard, Shershah, in Karachi West, residents said.

The area people, worried over the situation, have urged the concerned authorities to visit the site and take action against the land grabbers.

The stone-built graves were established near the boundary wall of a private industry. The residents of the locality blamed the owner of the industry for the demolition of the graves in a bid to occupy more land.

According to the residents, a large tract of the graveyard land had already been occupied by the factory owners who had set up their productive units.

Once the Morroro Graveyard was one of the largest graveyards in the city. It is situated nearby the Lyari River and Shershah. The graveyard has never been properly maintained, complained a resident, saying that “it is still without any proper water and electricity system.”

The residents also complained about difficulties they faced at time of burial at night because of non-availability of electricity.

After the creation of SITE in the ‘60s, the locality witnessed a mushroom growth of industrial units. The land grabbers took advantage of the situation and started occupying the graveyard land and sold it to the factory owners at a throw-away prices.

Meanwhile, the Baloch Ittehad Tehrik has also demanded an inquiry into the incident.