Shops razed to the ground

Teams started operation when shopkeepers had already opened their stores for business

FAISALABAD: The Municipal Cooperation City (MCC) staff carried out an anti-encroachment operation on Saturday in the second largest trade market in Faisalabad, known as the Jalvi Market, on Jaranwala Road.

Reportedly, shopkeepers had encroached stalls, extended iron shades on the top of their shops and established solid constructions. Occupied stuff covered eight to 10 feet of space in four bazaars situated in the market which consisted of a total of 2,000 shops.

Jalvi Market is a hub for the sale of items such as clothing, shoes, artificial jewellery, fabric, ready-made garments, crockery, cosmetics, sports items and edibles. Historically, people living in nearby villages have frequented the market for shopping.

As shopkeepers encroached the space in front of their stores over the last 20 years, they rented out the space to stall holders which created hurdles for pedestrians.

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Furthermore, the area occupied from the main road side adjacent to Jaranwala Government High school for Boys and Jaranwala Government Girls Higher Secondary School was also cleared. Some fruit sellers in the market had occupied the road side for the last 25 years.

The teams of MCC started an operation in the early morning hours when a few of shopkeepers had already opened their stores for business. Meanwhile, other shopkeepers rushed to the market and expressed strong reactions to the anti-encroachment drive.

The MCC staff called the local police which managed to control the situation. Reportedly, policemen assaulted a shopkeeper for filming the encroachment activity.

Footage of the incident was also filmed and posted online. A policeman visible in the footage was identified as Assistant Sub Inspector Mustanser Ali who beat the shopkeeper.

The team worked from day to night to demolish the shops, leaving the debris on the spot. At the time, nobody agreed to clear the path for pedestrians.

A shopkeeper told The Express Tribune that they were not served prior notices. “The staff suddenly appeared and destroyed our facilities and valuables. Now, it is required from us to pour in investment just to decorate the shops for visitors. All interiors have been damaged and wrecked.”

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Other shopkeepers and traders expressed their dismay and said that they would certainly follow instructions of the government if they were served early notices or were issued any kind of directions prior to the decision.

Another shopkeeper said that these stalls were their only source of income. “It is the duty of the government to arrange alternatives for businesses. We established small businesses to feed our family and now everything has been destroyed. We will have to face financial losses as well as the loss of our small business points.”

Municipal Cooperation Chief Officer Chaudhry Naseer said that the operation was carried out on the directions of Faisalabad Commissioner Mahmood Javed Bhatti.

He added that the commissioner himself oversaw the situation when he was passing through the market a few days ago. He passed orders to conduct the operation, he said.

He said, “The staff took on board a team from Water and Power Development Authority to disconnect electricity to avoid any situation. The disconnection of power helped the MCC team as shopkeepers could not carry out their functions in darkness.” A follow up visit after the operation is expected to be undertaken on Monday, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2019.