Imtiaz store may be shut down

Decision taken after no parking provision made despite regular traffic jams

KARACHI: The newly opened Imtiaz Supermarket in Gulshan-e-Iqbal may be shut down as it has failed to come up with its own parking as promised in the undertaking given to the East deputy commissioner (DC).

"We have to take a decision now since almost a week has passed since the store authorities signed an undertaking with the district administration on May 31," said East DC Asif Jan Siddiqui. The store claimed that it has parking space of 300 vehicles and will soon accommodate the customers with additional parking space, he said.



Since Imtiaz store failed to set up their own parking space even a week after this declaration, "we will give them a day more and then take the required action of sealing the store", said Siddiqui.



The deputy commissioner explained that they received a letter from the traffic police to take action against the store as well as the residents, who complained about the daily traffic gridlock that takes place ever since the store opened near Moti Mahal. "We were already worried about the traffic situation in the month of Ramazan and the opening of this store has created more challenges for us," he added.

Traffic AIG Tahir Noorani said that they wrote the letter to the district administration immediately right after the store opening. "We understood what a [traffic] mess this store can create," he said, adding that the chaos created ever since the new supermarket opened is not easy to manage. People park their cars haphazardly and that adds to the traffic mess, he added.



The residents of residential apartments near the store are, unfortunately, suffering. As soon as the sun sets, the entire area is caught in a massive gridlock that takes 30 minutes for a motorcyclist to pass through, complained resident Daniyal Ashraf.

The officials of Imtiaz store refused, however, to comment on the issue.



The issue came into limelight on May 27 when the store — claimed to be the largest in its chain of supermarkets across the city — attracted thousands of shoppers on its opening day. The store management provided a makeshift parking arrangement inside the Lyari riverbed but the authorities asked it to either silt the river or prepare to be shut down.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2016.