City admin turns blind eye to encroachments
Traffic snarls on roads in Rawalpindi have become a common sight due to encroachments. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Encroachments in the garrison city have become a pestering menace for citizens including shoppers and motorists.
The main Murree Road as well as different markets and bazaars across the city were filled with encroachments while the district administration has turned a blind eye to the issue
. The encroachments on footpaths extending to roads also continue to cause constant traffic jams. Operations against the encroachments in Rawalpindi have come to a standstill on highways, sidewalks and even alleys under the occupation of encroachers.
Traffic jams have become common on major highways including Murree Road.
Even written letters from the traffic authorities to the tehsil administrations have failed to mobilise the anti-encroachment staff.
Citizens have demanded that the Punjab chief minister issue immediate orders to clear the city of all kinds of encroachments.
Moti Bazaar trader Tahir Taj Bhatti said that encroachments were the root cause of traffic jams in Rawalpindi.
“Be it major business centres, or public highways, there are encroachments everywhere. It has become impossible for citizens to even walk on the streets,” he said.
He said that Moti Bazaar was so overcrowded with encroachers that buyers were afraid to show up for buying.
There is no place to set foot in Fawara Chowk, Kashmiri Bazaar, Ganj Mandi, Dal Gran Bazaar, Old Qala and Urdu Bazaar, he said.
Bhatti said that “Investors have built high-rise buildings for better businesses, pay taxes, but encroachments have popped up on the entry and exit points of these buildings.
The encroachment mafia has been operating unbridled. Another trader named Yasir Butt said that encroachments were rampant in all major business centres of the city including Bara Market, Commercial Market, Murree Road, Saidpur Road, Circular Road, Bani Bazaar, Marghi Mandi and Bagh Sardar.
“Even the big businessmen do not dare to remove encroachments. Traders spend millions of rupees waiting for customers but the main reason for the non-arrival of customers in Raja Bazaar and its adjoining bazaars is encroachments and the constant traffic jams there,” he said.
Traffic police officials said that removing encroachments was not part of their duty. Despite this, traffic wardens continue to operate with the help of lifters to ensure traffic flow.
Encroachments are removed for a while and encroachers reappear as soon as the police leave.
Traffic police officials said that several letters have been sent to the Rawalpindi division commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the tehsil municipal officer, but the request has fallen on deaf ears.
Tehsil municipal office officials said that action is carried out against the encroachments time and again.
They claimed that encroachments worth millions of rupees are removed and transferred to the office.
The municipal officials said that it was also the responsibility of the local business community to play a role in preventing encroachments on the city's main highways and sidewalks.
If every shopkeeper behaves responsibly and keeps his goods in the shop instead of placing them on the sidewalks, then no problem of any kind will arise, they said adding that the anti-encroachment cell tending to public complaints will expedite the anti-encroachment drive.