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KARACHI, May 15: The first phase of operation clean-up against goods-carriers launched in Lyari town on Wednesday met with a little success because of lack of coordination between the town administration and other departments.
When contacted, a town official conceded that there was no cooperation from other agencies. A visit to the site showed that there was absolutely no team-work.
The town administration had deputed its anti- encroachment squad with machinery on vital points of Lea Market where a camp office was also set up for monitoring, police vans were seen moving on Sheedi Village Road, and there seemed to be utter confusion regarding the operation.
Some of transporters had pulled down their shutters out of fear of administrative action. But there was business as usual in surrounding streets of Lea Market and Sheedi Village Road, the hub of transport activity.
In the afternoon at 12pm during a visit to Fida Husain Sheika Road near Lea Market, a goods carrier (LSB-4779) was seen busy in unloading activity. Similar activity was witnessed in some of the streets.
However, in the evening road-side kiosks set up near Lea Market, established by the transporters, were removed and only private coaches were allowed to pick and drop passengers on Gadani Bus Stop.
Talking to Dawn, Khalid Hashmi, Assistant Town Officer (anti-encroachment) who was surprising the operation, claimed that the operation was “effective and successful”, saying 28 transport offices in UC-5 and 10 had been sealed and there was no loading and unloading activity in these localities.
He admitted that there was tremendous pressure from the transport mafia to sabotage the operation.
Surprisingly, except the ATO, no higher official of the town administration was seen. Talking to this reporter, a CBO activist said: “He had neither seen the Nazim or any higher authority of the town monitoring the operation”.
He said even the TPO was not present, adding the SP traffic was seen for a while in the evening.”
He said the powerful mafia of Jhalwan-Makran, Quetta, and Frontier would never allow the operation to succeed because of their powerful connection.
STRIKE THREAT: Sindh-Balochistan Air-condition and non-air-conditioned Bus Owners Association has announced that they would block the RCD Highway and Hub River Road on May 16 to protest against the notices served on them by the local administration to remove terminuses of inter-city buses from the city limits.
According to a press release, a meeting of the transport associations was held here which condemned the local administration and Lyari Town for harassing the transporters and forcing them to protest.
They said the higher authorities assured them that the “terminuses” would not be removed as long as they were be provided a general bus stand in the city, but they regretted that the Lyari town administration was asking them to leave the terminus.
The Lyari Rabita Council and representatives of other NGOs in Lyari Town welcomed the decision of the town for shifting of goods carriers from the residential areas of the town.
They urged the administration not to succumb to pressure of the transport mafia.
