KARACHI, Nov 6: The city district government, in collaboration with all town municipal administrations (TMAs), is chalking out a comprehensive plan to retrieve footpaths from encroachers and remove all sorts of roadside encroachments.

Talking to Dawn, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal said that the plan, which would be given final shape in a few days, would be implemented in letter and spirit so that movement of pedestrians on footpaths without any obstructions or hindrance, as well as a smooth flow of traffic, could be ensured. Removal of encroachments would also restore the pleasant look of various ugly spots, he added.

Expressing his concern over the illegal occupation of footpaths by owners and operators of hotels, barbecue and other food outlets and the widespread roadside encroachments elsewhere in the city, the nazim said he did realize gravity of the situation and had already raised the issue with a group of town nazims during his maiden meeting with them. He said he had directed them to chalk out a comprehensive plan to ensure removal of all encroachments from footpaths and thoroughfares in their respective jurisdictions.

Mr Kamal was of the view that with the implementation of the plan, not only the pedestrians, who were deprived of the right to use footpaths in most parts of the city, but commuters also would heave a sigh of relief. Besides, it would help the city government uplift the face of the city which, at present, was dotted with encroachments.

The menace of encroachment has assumed an alarming proportion as shops, workshops, showrooms, hotels and restaurants, food outlets, etc., have annexed portions of almost all footpaths of major thoroughfares and vital roads and arteries in various localities. This has left a little space for pedestrians to pass through and they had literally no choice but to walk on roads risking their life.

On Mohammad Bin Qasim Road (formerly Burnes Road) and Shahrah-i-Liaquat in Saddar Town, one could see that on the one hand, a number of footpaths have already vanished and, on the other, width of the major thoroughfares has been slashed to half by encroachers.

Along the University Road from Hassan Square to Ashfaq Memorial Hospital in Gulshan Town, almost entire footpath and the central reservation that separates the main road from the service road, have heavily been occupied by hotel and barbecue operators as they have not only put up chairs and tables on footpaths to serve their customers, but have also placed their sizzling cooking burners and other paraphernalia there.

Moreover, a large number of cabins and pushcarts selling chicken, fruits, etc., have been occupying footpath and a portion of Sehba Akhtar Road. As a result of this, vehicular traffic between Yaseenabad and Gulshan-i-Iqbal usually flows at a snail’s pace.

Similarly, footpaths of the either side of Khalid Bin Waleed Road and New M. A. Jinnah Road in Jamshed Town have also vanished as owners of the automobile showrooms, which have sprung up there in a large number, use them for parking their cars.

Footpaths of Jamshed Road, which also falls in the jurisdiction of Jamshed Town, are in the illegal occupation of the traders dealing in automobile spare parts, as well as mechanics. One could see pedestrians walking on the road amid heavy traffic and a number of accidents have already taken place on this congested artery. Traffic jams on this road has become a matter of routine only due to the heavy encroachments.

At Karimabad intersection, a large number of cabins have been installed on the footpaths of Meena Bazaar and Bazaar-i-Faisal as both the busy footpaths have been rented out to vendors and petty traders by the former administration of the Gulberg Town.

The hotel business, which is thriving on footpaths in most parts of the city, is run mainly on footpaths only to force pedestrians to walk on roads amid heavy traffic. The hotel employees would usually throw filth, garbage and all sorts of rubbish on the adjacent roads and service lanes, creating unhygienic conditions.