SUKKUR: The district administrations of Sukkur and Dadu launched operation against illegal encroa­ch­ments on Wednesday and demolished hundreds of structures, sparking violent protests and scuffles with police.

The Sukkur administration aided by officials of irrigation, municipal and revenue departments and police pulled down at least 30 houses and ejected illegal occupants along the dykes of Khirthar and Dadu canals.

When the authorities began the operation with the help of bulldozers and cranes, people came out of houses and held a violent protest. Police used teargas and batons to disperse them and the area turned into a virtual battleground for some time, with the protesters pelting police with sto­nes and police attacking them with teargas and batons.

Police later arrested 60 protesters and lodged a case against them at A-Section police station.

The protesters told journalists that elected representatives as well as Sindh government had promised them alternative place but despite lapse of two years they did not honour their promise.

They would stron­gly resist if they were not provided alternative land.

Executive engineer of irrigation Khursheed Kho­khar said that the operation was being carried out in compliance with orders of the court. There were 7,000 houses and other structures on dykes of canals, he said and rejected allegation of settling people on dykes after accepting illegal gratification.

Sukkur Mayor Arsalan Islam Shaikh said that the operation was being laun­ch­ed against illegal occupants as per directives of the court. He had talked to Sindh chief minister and the affected people would be provided plots within a month.

DADU: The district admi­n­istration launched an operation against encroachments in several parts of the city on Wednesday and removed 500 illegal structures at and around Cinema Chowk, New Chowk and Katchery Road.

Speaking to journalists, Dadu Assistant Commissio­ner Mohammad Ali Baloch said that encroachments along Station Road, New Bus Stand, Old Bus Stand and SSP Road would be removed and the drive would continue till the city was cleared of all illegal structures.

The TMA had also issued notices to 200 more encroachers in the city, he said.

LARKANA: People residing on both banks of Rice Canal, which passed from the centre of the city, held protest on Wednesday against their possible ejection in a planned anti-encroa­chment drive.

The protesters led by Mithal Junejo, Qasim Chan­dio and others marched on main roads before converging outside Larkana Press Club.

They said that irrigation department had served noti­ces on them warning them to vacate the houses or they would be dismantled.

They appealed to Sindh chief minister to order survey of irrigation land and sublet it to Sindh Katchi Abadi Authority for onward regularisation on existing government rate instead of ejecting hundreds of families.

They said that required legislation should be passed through Sindh Assembly to resolve the issue.

The irrigation department should contain itself to the boundaries marked in the maps of 1928 and people residing on the land since 2011 should be granted propriety rights, they said.

Haji Munawwar Ali Abb­asi, convener of Larkana Awami Ittehad and Jamil Soomro, political secretary of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, met the protesters and assured them of extending legal support.

Maulana Rashid Mehm­ood Soomro of Jamiat Ule­ma-i-Islam-Fazl also deman­ded in a press statement that the government halt the campaign and stop demolishing houses of the poor in the name of anti-enthronement drive.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2019