Karachi, December 22, 2018 (PPI-OT): Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar said work on providing alternate shops to affected traders will start within a week. Balloting will be held in the Commissioner Karachi Office in the presence of two representatives each from markets and they will be given opportunity to do their business in a transparent manner and officers who promoted encroachments will be identified too. Politically my party suffered most and financially KMC lost revenue. If traders affected in Empress Market then lot of illegal activities were also happening there also.
We have to bear some loss in order to make things correct in the city. He expressed these views while addressing the members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry on a visit of KCCI Office on Thursday. Metropolitan Commissioner Dr. Syed Saif-ur-Rehman and other KMC officers along with office bearers of KCCI were also present on this occasion. Mayor Karachi said this problem was addressed by me from the first day and knew the problem of every registered trader, however the chamber delayed this issue as demands made today were almost done. Balloting for alternate shops to affected shopkeepers will be held next week in the Commissioner’s Office and trader’s representatives were in our contact regularly.
We will give alternate to our tenants, this being a human issue and we will not leave these people helpless. The Supreme Court had directed to complete this work in fifteen days but we asked for a month’s time so these people could have some time. He said this wrongdoing was not the product of a single day but fifty years old problem that had to be tackled someday. The court had called this wrong that shops were built on park’s land as this was not the place for commercial activities. That’s why these had been removed.
He said all those who utilized government land wrongly will get nothing. KMC had given them 4 X 4 shops and they did all illegal and wrong works like establishing hotels, warehouses and ice factories which was not right in any way. He said the weekly report of anti-encroachments being submitted on Friday. Mayor Karachi said that we could sought legal option by vacating our shops after serving notice to our tenants and we were not bound to give them any alternate but this being done on humanitarian basis.
He said hawkers’ zone should be established for push carts owners and other such vendors so they also have the opportunity to earn respectable livelihood. I have limited powers and still working on improvement in the city. Traders in Karachi should also know this. He asked the KCCI to donate or help in removing the debris in the city. He said Karachi should get water and gas according to its needs as progress in Karachi would mean progress of the country. Earlier the president of KCCI Junaid Ismail presented welcome address whereas Siraj Qasim Teli, Zubair Motiwala and former president A.Q Khalil also spoke.
For more information, contact:
Administrator Secretariat
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC)
City District Government Complex, 1st Floor, Civic Centre,
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Tel: +92-21-99232400-01
Fax: +92-21-99232406
Email: administrator@karachicity.gov.pk