Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The administration of Lakeview Park hurriedly allowed the 55 demolished kiosks owners to reconstruct their shops again in the park as they took hefty amount as inducement from them resulting the visitors have to pay three times more price of edibles from the open market.

The documentary proofs with the Daily Times revealed that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Directorate of Municipal Administration had cancelled the licences of 55 kiosks at Lakeview Park in the federal capital in September 2013. After that these kiosks were demolished during an anti-encroachment operation.

However, soon after the operation the officials deputed at Lakeview Park allowed these kiosks owners to rebuild their shops for heavy bribe, as they give huge money illegally to CDA staff. They are getting about 300 percent profit on their products, the people who visit for fun there are facing problems due to costly and substandard food items available at the park.

The look of the park explains the saga of mismanagement there as the park looks like a fish market as the garbage heaps and bad smell coming from these trash piles are disturbing the families who come there to pass their leisure time. Whereas because of diesel running boats, the lake water has turned polluted to the level that its colour is changing into black and unbearable stink makes the people especially the children unhealthy.

A visitor Iftikhar Ahmed told Daily Times that the people come here from entire country to get some fun but here they have to buy very costly food items, which is also of inferior quality that exposes the performance of the administration of the park.

Another citizen Mohsin said that as the civic agency of the federal capital has not any kind of check and balance so the price of food and other eating items is so much high that one cannot afford even for two or three members of a family. Moreover, the fee to enter the park is Rs 30 per head, which is also unjust. He said that the people cannot buy even a bottle of drinking water from the park and they bring it from home.

When Daily Times contacted the Lakeview Park Supervisor Basharat Raja, he said that at the time some eight supervisors are working in the park but they have no authority as the power to take action against the bogus kiosks and price hike of foodstuff is with the managers of the park.

Park Manager Ibrar Butt said that it is not in his knowledge that DMA had cancelled the allotment of kiosks and he received no orders from parks director to take action against any one. He said that the allegations of taking bribe from these stall holders is baseless.

CDA Parks director said that almost 202 parks in the federal capital comes under his jurisdiction and as far as the Lakeview Park is concerned, there are only 22 tuck shops situated in the premises of park and CDA gets Rs 44,000 as monthly rent from it.

He said that the CDA had removed the illegal stalls at the park but a high level committee chaired by the CDA chairman on recommendation of MNAs allowed them to start their business temporarily till the final decision on the matter.