Sikhs protest ‘illegal construction’

Link Road blocked for an hour.

LAHORE:

Over two dozen people, mostly Sikhs, blocked traffic for an hour in protest at an “illegal construction” in front of their shop in a plaza on Model Town Link Road on Monday.

Bishan Singh, owner of Sardar Jee Lehnga Sari House at Zainab Tower, told The Express Tribune that his corner shop was being obstructed by the new construction, which had been put up by “land grabbers” even after he won a stay order on it from the courts. He said that he had run the shop since 2005.

The protesters chanted slogans and burnt tyres on Link Road in front of the plaza.

Singh said that he obtained the court stay order on September 16, four days after construction of the new shop began, and handed the order to Liaqatabad police personnel on September 18.

He said that in defiance of the court’s orders, the plaza’s owners continued with the construction. On September 22, he said, he called Rescue 15 to get them to stop the building. He said Sub Inspector Abdul Razzaq, who dealt with the case, wrote to a special magistrate recommending that the new shop be sealed to prevent a potentially bloody confrontation between the two parties.

However, Singh said, the SI took his request back a few days later, without explanation. He said he had applied to the city police chief, governor and chief minister for remedy but to no avail. He alleged that his opponents had bribed the police.

Jaswinder Singh, who also works at the shop, said that they would protest on The Mall if their complaint was not heard. “We are a peace-loving community. We cannot fight land grabbers,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2011.