HYDERABAD, Oct 15: An old woman reportedly died and two women suffered injuries during Pakistan Railways’ anti-encroachment drive backed up by police on Saturday, which saw 80 shanty homes erected along the track near Makki Shah railway crossing dismantled.

Reports said the woman, Lakhman, apparently died of shock. The injured were identified as Ms Ladiki and Ms Lakhshmi.

The affectees claimed that the authorities pulled down their homes without any prior notice and claimed they had suffered huge losses.

They staged a sit-in at the railway crossing and warned they would not leave the debris from their demolished homes until they were provided alternate space. Their protest caused the traffic on Makki Shah and Auto Bahn roads to stop for some time.

The protesters led by Ram Chand, Wagho, Dildar and Ali Ahmed later told the reporters that they had been living along the track for last 40 years but nobody ever sent them any notice.

They said that they were construction labourers and severely criticized the authorities for launching the drive during the holy month of Ramazan.

The railway police said that they helped PR authorities after receiving a written letter, which asked for their help and assistance in the removal of encroachments on the railway property.

Police said that Engineer Asghar Ali Mitho and Works Inspector Tariq Mehboob led the team and denied any woman had died during the operation.

NAZIM: District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil has directed the district officials to complete work on water supply and sewerage lines in different units of Latifabad and Qasimabad talukas within shortest possible time.

Presiding over a meeting which reviewed the progress on different development schemes, he said that they should keep lessons learned from the recent heavy rains in mind and ensure the drainage system was able to drain out all the rainwater without any delay.

The nazim was informed that 30 per cent of work on the broken manholes in Qasimabad had already been completed and the remaining work would be finished in one and a half month.

A sewerage line measuring 20 inch diameter, which would increase the pumping capacity by 100 per cent was being laid in Unit No.2, 2 and other units of Latifabad, the meeting was told.