Traders determined to resist road widening

LAHORE:

A group of Ferozpur Road shopkeepers opposed to the road widening project has warned the government against any move to demolish shops along the road.

Mehboob Ali Sirki, the Anjuman-i-Tajiran Ferozepur Road president, told The Express Tribune that members of his organisation would resist the move by all means available to them. “20,000 shopkeepers in all 48 markets along the road stand united against the government’s designs,” he said. “The government should not take us for granted,” he added.

The Anjuman has called a meeting of its executive council on July 19 to chalk out a strategy.

The City District Government of Lahore (CDGL) had served notices to around 1,460 businesses to submit their building plans by July 13. The notice states that the businesses failing to produce the plan by the stipulated date would be sealed and the buildings demolished.

Qamarul Islam, the district officer (special planning), told The Express Tribune that the notices were served in connection with the Ferozepur Road extension plan. He said that they weren’t meant to threaten the shopkeepers, “It is a legal requirement. All shop owners should have their building plans that meet the relevant rules and regulations laid down by the CDGL’s town planning branch.”

He said that action would be taken against the shop keepers who fail to produce their building plans.

Shahid Ali, a trader in Ichhra, said that he had inherited his shop from his father who had inherited it from his grandfather.

He said that the shop constructed by his grandfather in 1960 was later divided into four to be distributed among his four sons. “I inherited my father’s shop,” he said, “The only planning permission we have is the one obtained by my grandfather in 1960 for the original building.”

Ali said that most of the shops in the area had been similarly passed down from one generation to another.

Hamid Muneeb, another shopkeeper, said that the government was aware that the shop keepers, most of whom had been operating their businesses for over 50 years, had old building plans. “If the government was so sincere in streamlining things it would have taken traders on board before issuing the notices,” he said. Muneeb felt that consultative meetings were avoided so that the government could point out irregularities and impose fines on the shop keepers.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the office bearers of the Anjuman-i-Tajiran said that they had directed the shopkeepers to be prepared for a three-day strike if the CDGL did not step back. “It is a life and death matter for us, we will retaliate in all possible ways,” they said.

The Ferozepur Road renovation project is meant to convert it into a model road. Besides widening the road, the CDGL plans to revamp the footpaths, bus stops and pedestrian bridges and to plant more trees on both sides of the road. A satellite controlled monitoring system is also in the pipeline to monitor the workers employed for its maintenance. The CDGL also plans to remove encroachments on the road.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif held a meeting in June with the officials concerned with the project. It was followed by a meeting organised by the Lahore commissioner, Khusro Pervaiz, who directed the district coordination officer (DCO), Sajjad Bhutta, to ban the entry of motorcycle rickshaws and two-stroke rickshaws on the road. The four-stroke rickshaws were limited to the service lanes.

The commissioner also directed the immediate renovation of the Shama Chowk and the Kharrian drain. He also directed the officials to allow only one-way traffic on Bahawalpur Road until the completion of the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2010.