KARACHI: A senior administrative official of Dadu district has requested the provincial government to grant permission for the construction of a park for women on a piece of a land before it was encroached upon by the powerful land-grab mafia in the district, it emerged on Monday.

Officials in the Sindh government said they had received a report about construction of a park for women and children in the district from its deputy commissioner who said his office had identified the land, previously used as the District Jail Dadu, for the purpose.

“Its urgent utilisation is also required as many attempts have been made by land grabbers to occupy the land,” said the deputy commissioner in the report to the chief minister’s secretariat.

“Permission may kindly be accorded so that possession of the said land may be taken over with immediate effect and a ladies and children public park is constructed in the name of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto on demand of the general public of Dadu city.”

Officials said the provincial government had asked the district administration to identify a piece of land for the park as the city had only one park.

The issue was taken up by Pir Mujeebul Haq, a member of the Sindh Assembly from the city, who recommended for it as a development scheme.

Officials said since the district jail had been shifted to a new building, the land had been free since 2005, thus, in the eye of the powerful land grabbers.

Published in Dawn September 13th, 2016