Authorities delay KCR land evictions by another 24 hours

The drive was postponed after shop owners sought time to remove belongings

KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), city administration and Pakistan Railways have started efforts for the removal of encroachments from the tracks of the Karachi Circular Railway, in accordance with the Supreme Court orders.

The action was supposed to start on Monday from Ghareebabad in District Central, but was halted when patrons at the furniture market sought 24 hours' time to vacate the land.

Speaking about the campaign, the additional deputy commission of District Central, Wasimuddin, told The Express Tribune that there are around 1,200 illegal structures built on the KCR's track in his district. He pledged to have all of them removed within four days, adding that most of the structures were commercial.

The KMC's Deputy Director for Land, Masroor Iqbal, for his part said that the corporation had overseen the retrieval of KCR land in March 2017. At the time, however, the Pakistan Railways had failed to make arrangements to protect the land in the absence of which, illegal structures soon returned to the track. This time, the KMC is again removing the encroachments on the SC's order.

Voluntary eviction

Meanwhile on Monday, a large contingent of Railways Police personnel assisted the shop owners in their efforts to remove their goods from the illegally occupied premises. The shop owners, while they voluntarily cleared the area, lamented that the livelihood of hundreds of families depended on the around 600 shops that would be demolished in the vicinity.



They also demanded that the provincial government provide them an alternative space to continue their commercial ventures.

Target area

For the restoration of the KCR, encroachments will be removed from the track that passes through Liaqutabad in District Central on Tuesday, while on Wednesday and Thursday, the track passing through North Nazimabad and Nazimabad will be cleared. Shanties and crudely-built housing structures have been constructed on and around the track that passes through Liaquatabad. Of these, several are more than single-storey houses.

The most difficult stretch for the authorities would be the track passing through Nazimabad and North Nazimabad that has been buried under structures of various development projects over the years. A case in point is the track of the Green Line BRTS Project, besides paved roads and footpaths that have been built above the track that passes through Nazimabad No.7.

The KCR was launched around five decades ago and was shut down for want of funds and poor management around 19 years ago. Over the years, around 70% of the 43-kilometre stretch of railway tracks has been encroached upon, while almost 14km of the line has been buried under the weight of various development projects. 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2018.