Rawalpindi Mayor Sardar Naseem Khan has issued strict orders to immediately remove all pushcarts parked on either side from Mareer Chowk to Faizabad Chowk.
“The business of installing pushcarts on both sides is illegal and an obstruction to traffic,” he said. The mayor has also issued a circular to the Municipal Corporation Chief Officer, the Municipal Officer (Regulation), and the Superintendent of Encroachment.
Just a week before the end of his term, the mayor has said that Murree Road is the main thoroughfare between the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. However, it has been illegally occupied by encroachers on both sides, which was causing complete disruption to the traffic system, he added.
Meanwhile, the Superintendent of Encroachment has ordered the immediate removal of all pushcarts from the road. At present, there are a total of 3,000 pushcarts on both sides of Murree Road, going from Mareer Chowk to Faizabad Chowk, with stalls on sidewalks.
Daily wagers sell fruits, vegetables, shoes, jackets, nuts, hosiery, soups, snacks, garments, and children's toys.
However, the encroachment department has declared the order as an “aerial order" and declared it unenforceable. A spokesperson from the corporation told The Express Tribune that if the pushcart owners were to be arrested, their carts and goods would also be confiscated. A new series of protests would start, and unemployment will rise further, he added.
All the popular bazaars in Rawalpindi are located on Murree Road, and are full of these carts. According to the corporation survey, a total of 15,000 to 20,000 carts and stalls, are currently parked in the inner city, major bazaars, and several areas of Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, District Baitul Maal Chairman Chaudhry Muqrib Ali told The Express Tribune that a decision has also been taken to reshape the wheelbarrow business across the city. A regular wheelbarrow market will be set up, he added. The administration will design these locomotives, and a regular space will be allotted for them, he said.
Preparations are underway for this new wheelbarrow market. It will be formally inaugurated in the first quarter of the new year.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2021.
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