Influentials usurp public property with impunity

Erect concrete walls outside their homes along service road

KARACHI:

Amid unchecked illegal constructions, a new trend of encroaching on public property is growing in the metropolitan city as "influential people" have started erecting walls outside their residences along the service roads. These unauthorised structures are causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians alike.

It appears that influential people are acting with impunity, disregarding the law as they build structures wherever they please. The lack of oversight to curb these encroachments is a matter of serious concern.

Karachi has witnessed a proliferation of illegal constructions.

What is particularly alarming is the audacity of influential people who have begun erecting concrete walls along the service roads outside their homes. Surprisingly, these people have not faced any intervention from the agencies concerned, such as the police, the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), or the administration.

In the latest instance, concrete walls have been constructed along the service road spanning from house No 111 to house No 113 in Railway Society, Block 13/A of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. These walls have encroached upon public space, leading to severe transportation hardships for the residents.

Sources suggest that these properties are owned by highly influential people who seem to operate above the law, unilaterally extending their properties with these illegal wall constructions.

Area residents have voiced their grievances by lodging complaints about these illegal constructions with police and other relevant authorities. Regrettably, their concerns have fallen on deaf ears thus far.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2023.