KARACHI: Expressing his party’s concern over a lack of strategy on the part of government to clear city drains of encroachments, Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal has demanded that people whose houses are being demolished be provided alternative accommodations before the action.

He made this demand while speaking at an event on Sunday to announce “hundreds of youths” from district East joining the party.

He said that the ongoing anti-encroachment operation across the city without providing alternative houses to the affected families was not only a sign of government’s incompetence but also a matter of grave concern.

The PSP chief said no strategy was evolved by the government for the ongoing drive that was halted a few days ago in Manzoor Colony after its residents offered stiff resistance.

He urged the judiciary to take notice of the situation, summon Sindh government officials and question their strategy as their action was causing chaos and hindrance in the cleaning of storm-water drains in the city.

“The incompetent rulers are not resolving the basic problem and rather shifting it from one place to the whole city, creating a law and order problem,” he added. “The people whose houses are being demolished will not dissipate in thin air ... they won’t die but settle on some other drain in the city.”

He recalled that during his mayorship, he had to demolish 34,000 houses for the construction of the Lyari Expressway. He said that three settlements were built with all basic amenities, where each affected family was provided an 80-yard plot and a Rs50,000 cheque.

Mr Kamal asked the government to follow the same strategy, allocate land for building settlements for the affected families, give them Rs100,000 each keeping in view the inflation and a 100-yard plot so that they could build their houses there.

He said that the PSP was the only political party which was offering a workable solution and it was up to the authorities concerned whether they would accept the solutions today or after a few years, but the longer they take the greater damage the state would bear.

Last week, an anti-encroachment action by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation suffered a major blow when residents of Manzoor Colony violently protested against the move to demolish hundreds of houses, said to have been raised illegally on Mehmoodabad nullah. Later, police registered a case against nearly 1,000 people under anti-terrorism law for hindering the anti-encroachment operation.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2020