Daily Times

LAHORE: Despite a massive clean sweep operation, district administration and traffic police have failed to curb encroachment on the city’s newly declared model roads.

Several main roads and service lanes were filled with small stalls and incorrectly parked cars, while the DCO Office central squad, town administrations and traffic police were trying to ensure smooth traffic on 20 model roads

Shopkeepers and citizens have given a mixed reaction to this operation. They said the district administration should take action in the walled city and its surrounding areas especially at Shah Alam Market, where there is extensive encroachment and the streets are too narrow. They said that in the evening massive traffic jams are everyday routine on main Ferozepur Road Ichhra, Shalimar and Model Town Link Road. However, traffic wardens are normally busy chatting or disappear from their duty point.

District administration said that each town’s authorities conducted a raid in their respective areas but are unable to execute them against those vendors which are protected by the encroachment mafia or the areas’ political party workers. They added that the chairman and vice chairmen of the union councils are also involved in resisting their efforts. They said that good performance of their jobs require them to simply fill, on a daily basis, two trucks with encroaching objects as directed by their superiors.

This was the first operation by departments concerned after the declaration of the 20 model roads which include Pico Road, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road (Akbar Chowk to Peeko Morr), Model Town Link Road, Ferozepur Road (Kot Lakhpat Area), Outside Circular Road (Ek Moria to Milad Chowk), Ichra Bazar, Data Darbar to Taxali, Motorcycle Market Mughalpura, Canal Bank Road (Dharampura to Lal Pul), Shalimar Link Road, Haji Camp, Allama Iqbal Road, G-I Market Johar Town, Walton Road, Masjid-e-Shuhada Mall Road, Bhatta Chowk road.