HYDERABAD, Jan 31: The Sindh High Court on Friday ordered the district council officials not to disturb the cattle owners from doing business in the present premises till March 31 besides asking the taluka councils to provide necessary facilities in Cattle Colony on the Tando Mohammad Khan road by that time.

However, the court said that this ruling should not be made a pre-condition for the shifting of cattle pens to their new location.

The order was read out in a petition filed by Ghulam Mustafa and Haji Amir Hamzo.

Under directives of the court, issued on Jan 21, the court’s additional registrar had visited the new site and submitted his report in this regard.

The inspection of the site was ordered on a miscellaneous application filed by 19 cattle owners.

According to the report submitted by the additional registrar, the assistant legal adviser of the defunct Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Wazir Mughal, and the project director of the Cattle Colony, Mohammad Irfan Sheikh, had also accompanied him during his visit.

The additional registrar said that nine of the 19 petitioners were not present at the time of his visit, adding that the plot, reserved for the cattle pen, was adjacent to the Cattle Colony.

He said that roads, electricity, poles with lights and water facilities have been provided in the general area of the cattle pen as well as in the Cattle Colony, adding that facilities like a slaughter house, a veterinary dispensary, a mosque and hotels were already available.

The additional registrar said that two plots had been constructed upon in the cattle pen area by the allotees but were not in use.

However, he said that the area was devoid of bank, municipal Musafir Khana and police post.

Upon query, the additional registrar said that the people from the Cattle Colony had informed him that they themselves were guarding their cattle.

The cattle owners had prayed the court to restrain the respondent officials from dispossessing them from their present cattle pen.

They accused the respondent officials of wanting to shift them to the cattle pen near Tando Mohammad Khan, which, according to them, was an undeveloped site.