PESHAWAR, April 19: Cantonment Board authorities started anti- encroachment drive in the city and demolished cabins and front of shops in Shoba Bazaar road on Saturday.

Shopkeepers said that the board staff backed by Frontier Constabulary and police started joint operation early in the morning. The law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and blocked the road for many hours.

The Shoba Road, one of the busiest routes of the city which houses workshops and small restaurants is heavily congested and frequently causes huge traffic jams during rush hours.

During five-hour operation, cabins, fronts of shops and restaurants were demolished to expand the road for traffic. But many shopkeepers complained that the board staff also penetrated inside the markets and removed cardboards of the automobile workshops.

An official said notices were served on the owners and shopkeepers a couple of months back to remove encroachments voluntarily. But the owners were using delaying tactics.

He said the board executive officer held a meeting with shopkeepers of Shoba Bazaar and Saddar Bazaar and informed them to make alternative arrangements before the operation kicked off.

He said the board authorities still intended to remove the main Takhto Mosque on the main Saddar Road and would soon undertake demolition operation.

The board, sources said, took the businessmen and shopkeepers of the cantonment area into confidence.