Anti-encroachment drive: Over two dozen pushcarts burnt, items seized

Affected vendors demand compensation, return of confiscated items.

ABBOTABAD:

Over two dozen pushcarts were seized and burnt by Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Abbottabad during a drive against encroachers on Thursday.

A number of food and non-food items being sold by the pushcart owners were seized and roadside setups dismantled at Royal Cinema, Cantt and Sabzi Mandi bazaars, as well as on Civil Hospital and Band Khoo Road, TMA officials told The Express Tribune.

They said the action was taken after the administration received complaints of encroachers creating hurdles for pedestrians and traffic and of pickpocketing in the mentioned areas. They said the vendors had set up shop in markets and along roads to attract customers during Ramazan.

The shopkeepers, however, condemned the move and said it was targeted at the poor vendors. They claimed that setups of the influential shopkeepers, who were responsible for the most prominent encroachments, were not uprooted. Mukaram Khan, a pushcart owner, said, “We were made scapegoats.”

The vendors have demanded compensation for their loss and return of their items confiscated by TMA officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2012.