Complying with the orders

The exercise will definitely help regain spaces originally meant for parks and playgrounds or other amenity purposes

The operation clean-up in Karachi, especially in Saddar, was long overdue. Had it not been for the Supreme Court, the mess around Empress Market in the form of concrete structures and make-shift shops would have continued to exist. The provincial government, local administration and the police would still have avoided this operation; not because of the risks involved but for the stakes they had in it. The October 27 order of the apex court was, however, loud and clear and the provincial government, city’s municipal authorities and law-enforcement agencies had no choice but to comply with it.

Decades back, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had changed the master plan of the Empress Market to construct four markets on the left and right wings and at the back of the magnificent British-era structure overshadowing its beauty and majesty. The ‘legal’ tenants had, however, raised unauthorised structures encroaching upon the roofs of these markets.

Once the massive debris lying around the Empress Market is removed, Karachiites will witness a completely changed landscape in Saddar. The exercise will definitely help regain open spaces originally meant for parks and playgrounds or other amenity purposes. But one has to be less optimistic about the durability and sustainability of these exercises. The present operation is one of many such exercises undertaken in the past. It only takes days or weeks for encroachment to re-emerge on these spaces after the drive is over. The past experience and evidence suggest that the emergence and re-emergence of encroachments on public spaces is not possible without the connivance of those in authority in the provincial government, city administration or the law- enforcement agencies. Who is going to put an end to this lust and greed to ensure that the results of such operations last long?

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.