Despite the fact that this city - Karachi - of teeming millions is confronted with various problems, man-made or otherwise (like crime, electricity, sanitation, transport, etc) yet a new craze has emerged among certain individuals and/or parties with finance to spare - by purchasing vacant plots and/or residential-cum-commercia1 buildings from individuals facing financial crunch and thereon construct high-rise residential-cum-commercial plazas.
Such individuals and/or firms have been popularly termed, in construction jargon as the 'Builder's Mafia' who resort to all sorts of negative tactics - with the active connivance of government functionaries - to fulfil their aims.
One such incident - which has come into limelight - is that of Ghousia Market, a residential-cum-commercial project situated on Plot No SC-4, Block-C, North Nazimabad, built in the early 70's, which was 'clandestinely' sold-off to an investor who is still an 'unknown entity' to all the tenants without bringing into confidence the 16 families residing in it nor the 14 shop keepers who are earning their livelihood from these shops for the past 30 to 32 years.
Now the fate of these families and shopkeepers is in the lurch because the purchaser/builder is reluctant to provide 'adequate compensation' to the affected parties but is bent upon ejecting all tenants and dismantle the entire structure, construct a multi-storied plaza over it and earn a 'lucrative profit' at the expense of all the 'tenants' - shopkeepers and families included.
The purchaser's official representative - who has been provided with a 'General Power of Attorney' to handle the whole case - has adopted a tactic of 'divide and rule' policy among the affected persons by spreading 'fearful and false rumours' among them with a view to dishearten them and give up their struggle for a 'just cause' which these shopkeepers and families owe to the landlord due to their long-term association with this residential-cum-commercial project.
The appointed attorney has also sought the intervention of the Town Nazim of UC-10, North Nazimabad, to handle this matter - as an impartial 'Arbitrator' - in this case. However, so far and most probably unknown to him, certain elements within the Town Nazim's office are openly siding with the purchaser and/or his representative thereby losing the 'confidence' of the affected tenants as regards the impartiality and/or 'transparency' of handling this case with justification.
In this context it is not out of point to mention another such case, but of a different type. The case in point is the construction of another plaza (ie in Block-A, N Nazimabad) - but within close proximity of this 'future plaza' in Block-C.
Over there, the livelihood of only a small number of 'shopkeeper tenants' was affected - with no families residing there - and all the shopkeepers were also adequately compensated for vacating the premises to the entire satisfaction of each affected individual
Whereas in Block-C, the case is entirely different because a ground + 2 storied structure already exists occupied by families and shopkeepers, for the past several years.
If this whole episode/incident does not reach a justifiable and an amicable - end and the affected individuals are not adequately and properly compensated, then, we are afraid to state, that this case will linger on endlessly and the 'fate' of the entire project will remain in the doldrums.