The municipal market ‘crashes’
TMA demolishes 25-year-old market, over 60 shops bulldozed in Daska.
SIALKOT:
The district administration in Daska recently demolished a 25-year-old Municipal Committee Market by declaring it to be an encroachment.
The administration has been carrying out an anti-encroachment drive in the district and several tehsil municipal administration (TMA) officers recently declared that the building was to be demolished because nearly all 60 shops and vendor’s stalls in the market were encroaching upon government land. “We issued warnings about the fact that the market would be bulldozed for over a month but people did not pay any attention to it. Eventually we bulldozed the place,” said TMA official Khaleeq.
All the shops, corridors, vendors’ spots and offices of an NGO located on the roof top of the market were destroyed on Friday as locals protested against the administration.
Concerned officials maintained that the market has been demolished through proper legal procedures and that the shop keepers had been given ample time for evacuation.
The district administration carried out the bulldozing operations under the watch of a huge contingent of police officials, Rescue 1122 workers and senior officials of the Daska TMA. “There were several people who refused to leave their shops and the police had to drag them out kicking and screaming before the bulldozers moved in,” said an eye witness, Kashif.
Daska deputy district officer (DDO-Revenue) Rao Riaz Ejaz supervised the operation. “People only began protesting once the machines moved in. The past month they ignored all the warnings,” he said, adding, “We cannot keep making exceptions.
These people were encroaching upon government land. It doesn’t matter how long they were here given that all that time they were working illegally.”
Locals in the district have protested, citing that the market was a ‘historical landmark’. Nearly 600 families have been directly and indirectly affected by the demolition.
The affected shopkeepers said that the administration demolished the municipal market without providing them alternative locations for their shops. “They just told us to leave our business behind and go. We couldn’t just pack up and leave if they didn’t give us compensation,” said shopkeeper Babar Khan.
TMA Daska officials said that the operation was done after the cancelation of a writ petition by the Lahore High Court (LHC) submitted by the affected shopkeepers, urging the LHC to halt the demolition. The LHC had disposed of the petition, ordering the Sialkot district administration, to ensure early demolition.
“How can they insist they didn’t have notice when they moved the LHC against the demolition several months ago?” said TMA official Qasim.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2010.
The district administration in Daska recently demolished a 25-year-old Municipal Committee Market by declaring it to be an encroachment.
The administration has been carrying out an anti-encroachment drive in the district and several tehsil municipal administration (TMA) officers recently declared that the building was to be demolished because nearly all 60 shops and vendor’s stalls in the market were encroaching upon government land. “We issued warnings about the fact that the market would be bulldozed for over a month but people did not pay any attention to it. Eventually we bulldozed the place,” said TMA official Khaleeq.
All the shops, corridors, vendors’ spots and offices of an NGO located on the roof top of the market were destroyed on Friday as locals protested against the administration.
Concerned officials maintained that the market has been demolished through proper legal procedures and that the shop keepers had been given ample time for evacuation.
The district administration carried out the bulldozing operations under the watch of a huge contingent of police officials, Rescue 1122 workers and senior officials of the Daska TMA. “There were several people who refused to leave their shops and the police had to drag them out kicking and screaming before the bulldozers moved in,” said an eye witness, Kashif.
Daska deputy district officer (DDO-Revenue) Rao Riaz Ejaz supervised the operation. “People only began protesting once the machines moved in. The past month they ignored all the warnings,” he said, adding, “We cannot keep making exceptions.
These people were encroaching upon government land. It doesn’t matter how long they were here given that all that time they were working illegally.”
Locals in the district have protested, citing that the market was a ‘historical landmark’. Nearly 600 families have been directly and indirectly affected by the demolition.
The affected shopkeepers said that the administration demolished the municipal market without providing them alternative locations for their shops. “They just told us to leave our business behind and go. We couldn’t just pack up and leave if they didn’t give us compensation,” said shopkeeper Babar Khan.
TMA Daska officials said that the operation was done after the cancelation of a writ petition by the Lahore High Court (LHC) submitted by the affected shopkeepers, urging the LHC to halt the demolition. The LHC had disposed of the petition, ordering the Sialkot district administration, to ensure early demolition.
“How can they insist they didn’t have notice when they moved the LHC against the demolition several months ago?” said TMA official Qasim.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2010.