KARACHI, April 18: The dual policy of the Saddar Town administration towards encroachments astonished the citizens when they saw cabins being set up on footpaths near the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital in Urdu Bazar.

Recently, at the pretext of clearing encroachments, mainly pushcarts selling books and relevant materials, the town administration has allocated the footpath along the Sobhraj Hospital for establishment of cabins.

Contrary to the tall claims made by the Saddar Town administration regarding the anti-encroachment campaign, the town administration has initiated its own “footpath-selling” program by installing fixed cabins on footpaths, which is illegal and has added to the misery of pedestrians and motorists in congested areas.

According to the information gathered by this correspondent, the motive behind the move is to generate revenues benefiting from the commercial value of the place.

The town Nazim justifies the move on the ground that it will ensure smooth flow of traffic, but the move will deprive the patients and their attendants at the Sobhraj Hospital of the already meagre parking space available to them. Surprisingly, nothing has been done to stop the move, even though the Sobraj Hospital is run by the city government.

The hospital is one of Karachi’s oldest, and is the only specialised, teaching hospital in gynae in the public sector in Karachi. It is among the few institutions of the country to have been recognised by the Royal College of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics.

The cabins will not only mar the face of the hospital, but disturb the free movement of visitors, nurses, doctors and students.

In particular, pregnant women will face difficulty in walk on the congested roads of Urdu Bazar after the footpaths are gone.

Residents of the area say they will protest against the cabins that will make their lives miserable. Some of them have even demanded the provincial ombudsman to interfere and protect the rights of pedestrians, particularly women patients.

Some residents have also lodged a complaint to the MS of the Sobhraj Hospital, accusing certain officers of the town administration of pocketing about half a million .

The complaint says that these cabins have been auctioned at Rs50,000 each, but they have added to the problems of pedestrians as no proper walking space is left on the footpaths, and the traffic flow is also hindered.

Besides, parking in front of these cabins is strongly resisted by the cabin owners, aggravating the parking problem in the Urdu Bazar area.—PPI