KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and other concerned departments continued an anti-encroachment drive along Mehmoodabad nullah for the fifth day.
Senior Director Katchi Abadi Mazhar Khan, Assistant Commissioner Ferozabad, Director City Wardens and other officials were presented during the operation.
On this occasion, Mazhar Khan said that a total of 105 illegal soft encroachments not involving residential units that were put up on the drain were removed by the district administration. Police escorted them to ensure a smooth run of the operation. The municipal officers resumed demolition of soft encroachments in the area with machinery.
On January 07, concrete encroachments removed including partial demolition of 57 houses built at the encroached land. On Monday, the city officials removed structures on about a seven-and-a-half-kilometer area in the anti-encroachment drive along Mehmoodabad nullah.
The encroached areas and walls of houses and shops were either cleared away or demolished. The operation is said to be continued for five days straight in collaboration with KMC and other relevant city agencies.
The Sindh High Court had refused to grant interim stay orders on a set of petitions filed against the anti-encroachment drive launched in different parts of the city on the directive of the Supreme Court.
The petitioners approached the SHC after the Sindh Building Control Authority and other authorities had issued them notices regarding demolition of unauthorized encroachments and restaurants on Superhighway, Landhi, Korangi and several other parts of the provincial metropolis. The SHC issued notices to respondents on some of the petitions but did not issue any restraining order.
Last week, the SC had ordered the authorities concerned to launch an operation against unauthorized and illegal encroachments and constructions on government land including parks, green belts, amenity land and other public spaces as well as the land of irrigation and forest departments across the province and sought compliance report within a month.
