KARACHI, April 7: The police are creating hurdles in the way of a development project of the city government by refusing to vacate a portion of Peerabad police station that is an obstruction in the right of way of signalization, improvement work and road alignment of Banaras Chowk.

City government officials held a series of meetings with the police and asked them to vacate a portion of Peerabad police station at Banaras Chowk, built by illegally occupying a plot of the defunct Karachi Development Authority, official sources said.

The police are reluctant to vacate the said portion of the police station, saying they should be provided with another piece of land where they could have Peerabad police station. The police have made it clear to the city government that they would not vacate even a portion of the existing building/premises of the police station.

Official sources said the city government had drawn up an improvement and signalization plan for Banaras Chowk to streamline traffic movement at the roundabout. The road at Banaras Chowk would be redesigned and some private buildings/houses would be demolished for which notices had been served on the occupants of the houses/buildings to be affected, the officials said.

They said two rooms of Peerabad police station fell in the way of alignment and without their demolition, the road could not be built in accordance with the proposed plan.

The officials said the city government had offered the police that the government would construct two rooms at another place on the same premises and the police would have nothing to spend on this construction, but the police rejected the offer.

Lyari town police officer Khurram Ali, who is holding charge of TPO SITE in place of Imran Ahmed, said: “My counterpart has briefed me about the matter as he (Imran) attended the meetings. We cannot vacate even that portion of the Peerabad police station as it will create problems for us.”

He said the operation police, investigation wing, traffic police and other departments had their offices on the premises of Peerabad police station. It was not only the question of two rooms but the parking space for police mobile vans would also be reduced, which would create problems for the police to park their vehicles. He said there was no space to build two rooms on the premises of the police station.

Mr Ali said: “We have told the city government about several alternative places where the building of Peerabad police station can be constructed, and negotiations are in progress in this connection.”

When his attention was drawn to the fact that Peerabad police station had been built on an encroached plot of the defunct KDA, he said: “We are here to serve the people as police stations are built to provide service to the people.”

He asked if the police were not provided with a proper space to build police station, where would they build it.