OKARA, Feb 21: Dozens of Katchi Abadi dwellers resisted the Tehsil Municipal Administration’s (TMA) move on Wednesday to bulldoze their houses for a naval college.

On Tuesday, dozens of TMA encroachment staffers arrived at a Katchi Abadi near Kalsoom Hospital and started demolishing the boundary walls of houses there but men, women and children from the locality resisted it forcing the staff to leave the area. The staff, however, warned the dwellers to leave their houses within 12 hours.

On Wednesday, dozens from the locality approached Tehsil Nazim Rao Jamil Akhtar for help but he asked them to see District Coordination Officer Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Kamboh. The DCO said that he was bound to obey the orders of the provincial government to get the land vacated.

When TMA staff with cranes and bulldozers arrived at the locality, residents and PPP MPA Muhammad Ashraf Khan Sohna resisted against the TMA crew. They chanted slogans against the officials. Seeing fierce mood of the mob, the crew went back without doing its job.

Police led by City DSP Malik Dawood stood alert to avoid any untoward incident. PPP activists Rao Rafiq and Syed Ijaz Gillani also remained there in favour of the residents.

The tehsil nazim said that the land was owned by the provincial government and was required for a naval school and college. The residents said that about 30 families had been living there for over 20 years and a majority of them had installed electricity and gas connections there. They also alleged the TMA wanted to construct a gas station there.

Dawn learnt Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had directed all TMAs to grant ownership rights to residents of Katchi Abadis and the Punjab Katchi Abadis director general had asked TMAs to prepare a list of such localities.

The residents said they move court against the demolishing orders.