As many as 500 city traders whose shops were demolished during the 2018 anti-encroachment operation are still waiting for the allotment of alternate locations to resume their businesses.

Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar said a total of 2600 traders were affected by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) led anti-encroachment drive, out of which alternate space for some 2100 has been arranged while the remaining will get the shops for business in next two months.

Addressing a ceremony held in the KMC head office on Thursday on the balloting of alternate shops and offices to 405 affectees of zoological garden market, he said that KMC alone did all this with its resources as no one helped us in relocation of these traders.

Mayor said that it was his responsibility to focus on the problems of people in the city. Supreme Court's directive for removal of encroachments was aimed at restoring the original shape of the city and that is why we appreciated it.

In past we did wrong things by allowing people to do commercial activities on city parks, drains and pavements. The situation reached at the stage where this city lost its beauty and people faced lot of difficulties in their daily life.

He alleged that the federal and provincial governments failed to secure their land and the ownership of the city. "The Sindh government though initially made some commitments for supporting the relocation of affectees but nothing was done practically," he said.

The delay in allotment of shops was due to the fact that we wanted to provide permanent place for business to these traders. Metropolitan Commissioner Dr Syed Saif-ur-Rehman said that it was even more important to relocate the traders than to remove them in the anti-encroachments drive.

It was a difficult decision to utilise the costly municipal land for this purpose. He expressed hope that these traders would have a good business at the new place. Parliamentary leader in City Council Aslam Shah Afridi said the mayor has given them their right and the remaining would too get the alternate shops soon.

Chairman of Karachi Tajir Ittehad Ateeq Mir on this occasion urged the Mayor to accelerate his efforts to ensure alternate shops to the remaining affectees. General Secretary of Zoological Garden Market Association Asif Shehzad also spoke on the occasion.

Later Mayor Karachi, along with the metropolitan commissioner and trader's representatives performed the balloting and announced the names of traders who got the shops and offices at the alternate place.