KARACHI, Jan 11: The Saddar town administration, despite the hue and cry raised by the print and electronic media and strong protest lodged by the area residents and overwhelming number of people who visit Saddar area daily, appears totally oblivious to the menace of unprecedented encroachment in the area which is a major cause of traffic congestion.

People of Saddar Town, like elsewhere, had pinned high hopes to the new local bodies system as they had thought that their area would be purged off the menace of encroachment which had been adding to their suffering.

However, with the passage of time their hopes were shattered as the ground reality remained the same.

The areas where encroachments cause worst problems for the vehicular traffic and pedestrians are in front of Empress market, Daudpota road, Mansfield street, Shara-e-Iraq and Regal Chowk.

The entry of large number of buses and minibuses in Saddar area, without route permits, has further deteriorated the situation.—PPI