AN organised and systematic encroachment of Model Colony Railway Station is in progress these days. There were several encroachment attempts made in the past that were thwarted by area residents who solicited the help of law-enforcement personnel. This time the encroachment attempt is being executed by municipal authorities who seem to be working in collusion with elements in the provincial government.

The saga started in Sept 2019 when the chief minister ordered the lifting of solid waste from Karachi and the municipal authorities turned the beautiful and spacious Model Colony Railway Station into a large waste-dumping site.

The railway station, which is located in the middle of a densely populated area, is now a vast garbage dump with huge mounds of solid waste. There is an unbearable stench all around and it has become a breeding ground for stray dogs and rats.

The adjoining wide road and the only open playing space for the youth of the area have been filled totally by the garbage dumped there. That is not all.

Large chunks of platforms are being removed by using heavy mechanical shovels and machinery at frequent intervals when the district authorities perform cleanliness drives, but only in the railway station precincts.

Judging by the pace, almost half of the platforms have been removed from one end while a gang of land-grabbers is encroaching the railway station from the other end.

The increasing filth has become a problem for the residents of many of the houses facing the railway station. Many residents have been forced to abandon their houses due to the unliveable conditions.

This rail track is the only railway link of Malir cantonment with the rest of the country.

The civil authorities need to keep the railway line and the railway station clean and clear keeping in view its importance.

Raihan A. K. Lodhi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2020