The hospital has blocked off the service road for use as a parking space. Cantonment Board Faisal and KDA seem reluctant to take action against the violation. PHOTOS: AYSHA SALEEM/EXPRESS
KARACHI: Encroachment of service roads by parking mafias and hawkers is a common sight in the space-craving metropolis. But in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar locality, a large chunk of a service road has been taken over by a hospital, despite nearby police presence.
Darul Sehat Hospital in Gulistan-e-Jauhar's Block 13 has barricaded a huge portion of the service road and secured it by placing stones on the periphery. A branch of Meezan Bank also operates out of the hospital building.
The area falls within the jurisdiction of Cantonment Board Faisal (CBF), whereas, Karachi Development Authority (KDA) is responsible for issuing land leases.
According to the executive director of the Darul Sehat Hospital, Dr Shahzad Alam, they are operating their hospital on a one-acre piece of land, which is an amenity plot. He said they have total of 250 beds in the hospital, of which 175 are operative.
According to the Sindh Building Control Authority's (SBCA) parking bylaws, for every 10 beds and per consulting room of a clinical or medical service building, one motor vehicle parking shall be provided.
To this, Alam responded that they do not have any space for parking within their premises. "We are planning to start a valet parking service," he said, hoping that after the service begins, road congestion [due to the parking area] will end.
An official of the CBF's engineering department, Afridi, told The Express Tribune that SBCA's parking bylaws do not apply to them.
However, Afridi, who did not disclose his full name, said the hospital, according to CBF's parking bylaws, has to provide parking space within their premises. When asked how the hospital continues to operate by encroaching on a service road, he claimed they have already written to the KDA about the issue. Before taking any action, he said, the CBF must know whether the KDA has leased that part of the service road or not. KDA has yet to respond to the information request, he informed.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Nadeem, a former additional land director at KDA, said the service roads could never be leased out and, in this specific case, they never leased any piece of the service road.
When asked why action has not been taken against the violation, he, in return, asked how they could take action against a hospital. "They are working for a good cause," he said.
Meanwhile, the bank manager explained that they operate out of a rented space and have nothing to do with the encroachment, even though bank staffers park their vehicles in the encroached space.
Blame game
The owner of the hospital, Dr Ali Farhan, said, after a bomb blast just outside the hospital a few years ago, they barricaded the service road and a police picket was set up there.
According to Dr Farhan, the service road has been encroached upon by residents of the apartments located in the vicinity and they have nothing to do with it. However, a resident who lives just behind the hospital, Mashqoor Qazi, said the hospital has barricaded the service road and their staffers park their vehicles there regularly.
The residents and commuters, he said, have to wait for hours in traffic jams owing to the illegal parking on encroached land.
Meanwhile, a policeman at the picket in front of the hospital said, on the condition of anonymity, that they will only take action against the encroachers when any municipality asks them to do so.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2016.
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