Entry, exit points of streets: Home department fails to remove illegal barrier

Despite tall claims, Sindh Home Department has not been able to take effective action against the increasing trends of installation of illegal barriers at the entry and exit points of the lanes and streets of the different areas of the city.
Due to the worst law and order situation in the city, the residents of different areas have installed barriers by their own at the entry and exit points of their lanes and deployed private security guard as well to thwart any untoward incident, as a brief visit of Malir Town and Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town revealed the situation on Wednesday.
It is pertinent to mention that the trend of barrier installation has gained momentum, despite the announcement of the Sindh Home Department to launch crackdown against the installation of barriers, moreover, the Department had issued notification on December 15, 2008 to the Station House Officers (SHOs) to remove all illegal barriers from the lanes and streets. According to the notification citizens were warned to remove the illegal barriers within seven days otherwise an operation would be launched against them.
In this notification, however, Nazims and SHOs of their respective areas have been directed for providing details of permitted barriers to bring improvement in law and order situation in the city but all in-vain. But the department has failed to implement the orders due to the involvement of politics.
As it is observed that in some areas of the city, people have started establishing check posts around barriers where activists of different political parties are deployed to monitor the activities of their opponents.
According to a resident of the Model Colony, Malir the installation of the barriers have become a business for the party activists, as they demand for money from the residents on the name of providing security to them, moreover, their involvement create hurdles in the free movement of people in the area.
He further said that the party workers of the areas collect Rs 500 from each shopkeeper and Rs 300 from owners of the plots to pay salaries to the security guards. Talking to Business Recorder, Special Home Secretary Collin Kamran Dost, said that the department had decided to launch operation against illegal barriers, but law enforcement bodies faced lot of problems during operation against criminal elements, resultantly the department failed to implement the orders effectively due to involvement of political parties.
Giving his comments on the installation of barriers he said, Fear prevails in the city due to spread of rumours of possible suicide attacks and entrance of the suicide attackers in the metropolis, which has created panic in the city that is why people prefer to install barriers by their own for their safety, Special Secretary added.