Daily Times

KARACHI: The Anti encroachment force has demolished 161 shops of motorcycle sellers terming them as encroachments in an operation on Tuesday.

Shops keepers and their relatives staged protest against operation; they set tires on fire on MA Jinnah Road and chanted slogans against Police but the operation was completed by using force against the protesters which resulted in a massive traffic jam on the busiest road of the metropolis for the whole day.

Team of Anti encroachment force equipped with cranes and Shovels reached MA Jinnah Road around 10AM along with district police and started demolishing the main market of motorcycle sellers and dealers comprising of 161 shops near Jama cloth market, Police said.

Operation was commenced when the shops were closed and their owners were at homes but soon motorcycle dealers were informed about it by people that were present at the scene.

Within next one hour the MA Jinnah Road was turned in to a battle failed as the shop keepers with their relatives reached at the spot and started protest against the police after the initial negotiations and then a scuffle which went ugly.

Protesters set the tires on fire and pelted stones on the police. To control the satiation more police was called in, which was added to the contingency to disburse the protesters.

Police unleashed the baton charge on shop keepers while anti encroachment force completed the operation by demolishing all the 161 shops of market.

One shop keeper Israr said that he and all other shop keepers were not the Land Grabbers or illegal encroachers instead they were paying rent to KMC on regular bases, he termed the operation illegal and further said that they were allocated these shops by an provincial minister in 1992 over the main sewerage line “NALA”.

“Now what would we be doing on Eid, we have spent every thing we had on these shops .The government has to facilitate citizens in Ramzan but they have ruined our lives in Ramzan” he added.

On the other hand police said that it was an encroachment which has been causing massive traffic jams on daily bases.

During the operation and protest, worst traffic jam occurred on MA Jinnah Road, thousands of vehicles got stuck into each other carrying thousands of people for the whole and hot long day.