Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar said the KMC would restore Empress Market Saddar in accordance with its original master plan which included parks around it. "As per the Master plan of Empress Market, there were parks all around it; however, due to negligence of civic authorities in the last 30 years, various shops and markets were built on that land," he said, talking to the media outside the Empress Market on Sunday.
We should stop repeating those mistakes," he said as the grand operation of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) against encroachments continued in full swing around the historic Empress Market for last one week. Waseem Akhtar said the 30-year-old tenancy agreements between KMC and the markets had been terminated and the occupants were informed through notices. The utility services were also disconnected to them, he said.
Director Anti-Encroachment Cell KMC, Bashar Siddiqui, said that parks would be constructed at all the places in Saddar where shops were demolished. He said encroachments inside the Empress Market would also be removed.
The decades-long apathy of authorities concerned let the encroachers occupy main areas of Saddar, raising more than a thousand illegal structures and several markets on the prime government land, causing huge financial losses to city government (KMC). Immense traffic chaos also engendered by them. Karachi Mayor said Empress Market is the face of this mega city and it reminds us the past glory of Karachi.
Aided by police and rangers and supervised by the Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Saifur Rehman, the anti-encroachment team of KMC arrived at the site at around 7am and razed over 10000 illegal shops and structures located in bird market, cloth market and dried-fruit market with the help of heavy machinery such as trucks and bulldozers.
In order to stop the encroachers from reoccupation on the government land, the civic body will establish a task force and vigilance committees with the latter to remain at camps around the area as soon as the operation comes to an end.
Mayor Waseem Akhtar dispelled the impression that the anti-encroachment operation is being conducted in Pakhtun-dominated markets only. He clarified it was wring to say so and similar operation would be carried out in Azizabad, Liaquatabad and North Nazimabad and elsewhere in the metropolis shortly.
In order to avoid losses, the mayor warned the illegal occupants to vacate shops, or else the government will take action. He also praised those shopkeepers of Saddar markets to vacate their shops that helped the operation team to remove structures without facing any resistance on Sunday.
He said ongoing anti-encroachment drive is being conducted in the light of the Supreme Court's orders. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan also asked him to take action against encroachments. "We are following the directives of federal government and the apex court," Waseem said.
He made it clear that the affected people would be provided with an alternative place and a committee was formed for this purpose. "We do not want to affect business of anyone and we would not repeat the mistakes of the past.
The KMC operation has become a source of information for Karachiites, particularly for the youth who see construction heritage of colonial era due to razing of illegal structures. A number of the buildings bearing original construction date of British era on their walls have now become visible in that area.
Although the area residents and shopkeepers are satisfied with the operation, the affected tenants complained injustice done to them. Those satisfied with the KMC action hope roads would be open and wide. There would be no traffic woes once the drive is completed. They said the construction of parks would also help them to do healthy activities.
On the other hand, the affected tenants said they had been paying rent amounting millions of rupees to the KMC every month. On November 8, shopkeepers of Umer Farooqi Market staged a demonstration outside the Empress Market to protest against the operation. They alleged that on November 7, 2018 civic authorities asked them to vacate the shops on just three-hour notices under the pretext of the Supreme Court's orders. The apex court, on October 27 last, ordered that the encroachments in the metropolis be removed within a fortnight.
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