A MAJOR anti-encroachment drive was conducted around the Empress Market in Downtown Karachi’s Sadder area a few years ago in which numerous unauthorised shops and structures were demolished by the local administration.

Besides, all pushcart vendors occupying the road illegally had also been removed in order to restore the aesthetics of the area and to facilitate a smooth flow of traffic.

Recently, while driving on a road adjacent to the Empress Market, I was disappointed to see that both sides of this road have again been encroached upon by pushcart vendors, making it extremely difficult for rush-time traffic to pass through the area.

The commercial activity and the presence of customers in the middle of the road are making the traffic bottleneck even worse. The police and the local administration were nowhere to be seen to stop this blatant violation of the law by the encroachers. It is obvious that without their connivance, the illegal occupation of a major portion of a road by these encroachers could not have been possible.

The provincial law-enforcement agencies need to take a stern action to clear this area of the encroachment mafia, and to ensure smooth, uninterrup-ted flow of traffic in this busy city area.

Aamir Malik
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2022