Protest against anti-encroachment drive at Mehmoodabad Nullah

KARACHI: The municipal staff and the police reached at Mehmoodabad Nullah for an anti-encroachment operation to remove illegally built houses, ARY News reported on Thursday.

The municipal administrator has also reached to the spot for the anti-encroachment operation to demolish 850 illegally built houses at Mehmoodabad drain.

Local people, including large number of women and children, protested against the operation to remove the encroachments and chanted slogans against the administrative action.

The anti-encroachment drive at Manzoor Colony and adjoining areas caused traffic jam in the locality.

The residents were issued notices and given a deadline of 10 days to vacate these houses, district officials said.

The anti-encroachment operation will be started from Manzoor Colony’s Defence More, for which four teams have been constituted, officials said.

It is to be mentioned here that most of the storm water drains in Karachi have been encroached with illegally constructed houses, shops and other structures.

According to a survey conducted by government departments, these encroachments have major role in restricting free flow of the rainwater causing urban flooding and immense damage to the city, in case of a catastrophic spell of rainfall, like the one recently hit the port city.

The survey, conducted by Sindh Irrigation Department and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) few years back, pointed out thousands of built houses on Gujjar Nullah, stretched over a distance of 13.5 kilometers.

According to survey papers several billions of rupees will be required to shift these houses and provide alternate shelters to the affected people.

According to the survey, 27 key water drains of the ciry have been occupied by the illegal encroachments.