Illegal commercial activities irk residents

Locals hold civic agencies responsible for encroachments in Rawalpindi city, Cantt areas

RAWALPINDI:

Illegal and rampant commercial activities in residential areas of Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonments and city areas create a lot of nuisance for the residents.

The residents of several Cantonment areas have been left to suffer due to illegal commercial activities in residential areas and the authorities concerned are least bothered by illegal commercial activities.

Dozens of illegal old spare part workshops set up in cantonment residential areas lead to mental and physical hazards for the locals.

It has become difficult to pass through the streets of these neighbourhoods, and traffic jams and noise pollution caused by mechanical work have forced residents to sell their valuable properties at low prices and migrate.

Several roads have been declared commercial by ignoring parking arrangements and traffic-related issues. The illegal commercial activities in several residential areas including in Gawalmandi, Chor, Tench Bhatta, Chungi No 22 and several other areas irk the residents as the encroachers have occupied streets and roads, creating problems for the motorists as well as pedestrians particularly for women and children to walk hassle-free.

According to the residents, most of the streets of Tench Bhatta, Peoples Colony, Dhoke Syedan, Bakra Mandi, Chungi No 22, Chor, Gawalmandi and other areas have been converted into commercial centres.

The residents also complained that influential persons with the connivance of the authorities concerned are constructing illegal buildings and shops in such localities further deteriorating the agonizing situation.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 20^th, 2022.