KARACHI, Feb 4: Precious land, worth millions of rupees, had allegedly been allotted to transport and land mafia in Lyari Town recently, which could be developed as some public facility, municipal sources said on Wednesday.

According to the sources in Lyari Town administration, four plots, measuring 250 acres, had been allotted to a transporter and some builders for commercial purposes, in a locality which was already densely populated.

They said these plots, situated in Chawkiwara, could be developed as parks and playgrounds or as some other recreational facility in the locality, where such facilities were still lacking.

Though the exact official figures are not available, but warehouses have been existing in residential areas of Lyari Town, much before the creation of Pakistan.

Most of these warehousing units had been granted temporary leases in 1940s and the 50s by the then deputy collector, and were categorized as CDC plots, the sources said.

Despite the fact that the lease periods of many of these commercial units had expired, they continued to operate because of influence and high connections of the owners of these units, they added.

The owners had also set up industrial units on such plots, which created noise and had become a source of environmental pollution, the sources said, alleging that most of such units did not pay any taxes to the government or local bodies.

For years, the residents of the old city areas have been pressing the authorities concerned to eliminate these hazardous units, but no action had been taken in this regard. Some of these units had been even granted licences by the municipal authorities to run their businesses, deplored some area residents.

The residents say that availability of warehousing facilities in almost every street of the area is the main cause of establishment of these illegal industrial units. The situation had further been aggravated by the transporters who had established bus terminals in many streets of the locality, they added.

A survey shows that more than 200 such illegal industrial units are operating in Lyari Town, while the number of these units in the old areas of Saddar Town is even greater.

The residents said most of the units produce plastic goods, soap, and other such items, which involved use of hazardous chemicals.

There are also cotton and wool ginning and steel factories, set up in the midst of residential areas, which are permanent sources of air and environmental pollution.

A resident of Baghdadi, who is a senior doctor in the Lyari General Hospital, said that a plastic factory had been operating in a narrow street of the D.D. Chaudhary Road, round the clock, for the past many years, where the residents could hardly sleep because of the constant noise produced by the machines. The situation had become so grave that the people now wanted to shift to some other locality, he added.

The increase in volume of trade activity has created many problems for the residents of these localities. It was for this reason, the people have been demanding shifting of transport business from the area.