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Local residents have faced hardships after the Sindh government declared to close Karachi’s Burns Road food street for traffic in the evening.
One of Karachi’s oldest food streets, Burns Road, is being pedestrianized and closed for traffic in the evenings, from 7 pm and commuters were restricted from parking their vehicles in the street after the stated time from January 10.
Residents of Burns Road had moved the petition at Sindh High Court (SHC). After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan directed the petitioners to satisfy the court as to maintainability of the petition at the next hearing.
According to Muhammad Aslam, a resident of Burns Road, the road is closed at night, but on the other hand, even during the day, the occupation of the main road and streets of Burns Road has become commonplace.
“Roads and streets were blocked by putting chairs and tables on the way to our houses. Our women and children cannot leave their houses after evening,” he said.
Mohammad Aslam said that the judge had asked the residents of the area for affidavits for the hearing of the case which they submitted.
He said that the poor people cannot eat here because of the high rates of the dishes and, meals, adding that the main purpose to close the road to increase the hardship of the poor residents.
Another resident of the area Raju Imran said that his mother was ill and he had to go to the clinic three times a week to see a doctor due to the government’s step to declare the area as food street increase the suffering.
“Due to closing of the road, from where my mother takes a rickshaw to see the doctor, it has unnecessarily increased cost of Rs. 200 per day,” he added.
He said they have taken signatures from 800 residents and submitted petitions to Sindh Chief Minister, Local Government Minister, Chief Secretary, Commissioner Karachi and other officials, requesting that Burns Road be opened for traffic. Unfortunately, the Sindh government did not take any action in this regard, he regretted.
On the other hand, speaking to MM News, Mansoor Ahmed, Manager, Road Trip, a company that manufactures Burns Road Food Street, said, “We have set up a Food Street with a new effort in which people are coming in large numbers to eat.”
It has boosted business and created a large number of jobs, he said. It was a lie that the residents of the area were facing difficulties due to the closure of traffic, Mansoor claimed.
