Bar B Q hotels, shops, marriage halls illegally occupy city’s 80 percent footpaths

December 21, 2009
By Irfan Aligi

KARACHI: Encroachment of public places such as footpaths, link roads and main roads has become a menace all over the city.

In this regard, City District Government Karachi (CDGK) land department and town municipal administrations (TMA) concerned have failed to fulfill their responsibilities regarding removal of such encroachments.

A well-placed officer in CDGK Land Revenue Department said that around 150 marriage halls and Bar B Q hotels, restaurants, burger stalls, and others have encroached more than 80 percent of city’s footpaths falling on either side and in the middle of roads.

He cited that Gulberg Town and North Nazimabad Town are two such areas in the city that have the highest number of such violations. In Gulberg Town, from Gulberg Chowrangi toward Samanabad, from Ayesha Manzil to Yaseenabad, from Ancholi to Gulberg Chowrangi, from Water Pump to entire rear side of Yousuf plaza, and many other sites have been fully encroached.

He said that the marriage halls in the city in general while in Gulberg town, North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e Iqbal Town in particular have been causing constant traffic gridlocks of which the earlier two towns have worst situation especially from Golden Gate near Matric board Office to Sakhi Hassan Chowrangi in North Nazimabad and from Mukka Chowk to Yaseenabad in Gulberg Town.

He said that the encroachment of footpaths was worst in North Nazimabad. All Bar B Q hotels, shops and restaurants at Five Star Chowrangi toward Ship Owners College and toward Landi Kotal have encroached each single footpath.

He said that the area in North Nazimabad from Five Star Chowrangi to Sakhi Hassan becomes blocked due to parking of hundreds of cars on both side of link roads and main roads.

He said that CDGK and other authorities have struggled for the recovery of illegally occupied land but this type of peculiar encroachment was rampant in the city and has been ignored.

He said that TMAs concerned were responsible for correcting these problems.
He said that as far as parking of cars and other vehicles on roads in front of marriage halls in the city, it was the duty of TMA concerned and DIG traffic to ensure the roads clear but unfortunately, the menace was ignored even by the high officials of the two authorities.

He said that the CDGK centralized land encroachment department could simply do such arrangements on a few main avenues of the city.

He said that it is entirely basic human rights violation that the restaurants have encroaches footpaths besides their premises and those lying in between two roads for petty fee. It is noteworthy that these footpaths could not be rented out at any cost because it was citizens right to have footpaths to walk on.

He said that it was a complete misery that the high officials traveling on these roads have been ignoring citizens’ basic rights so in this situation citizens were in helpless condition.
He said that in Jamshed Town, New M A Jinnah Road has no footpath for the pedestrians as countless car showroom owners have occupied them.

He said that a popular Bar B Q hotel located near Allah Walla Chowrangi near Tariq Road in Jamshed Town has occupied link road which the owner of the hotel has closed permanently and has converted the link road into hotel premise.