Photo: Online
Shopkeepers of the Lighthouse Market in Karachi started protesting outside the main entrance of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation building on Monday.
“A year back, our shops were knocked down by the KMC,” a shopkeeper at the protest said. “Even legal shops were demolished.”
A year has gone by, but we haven’t been provided with alternate shops or space, he added.
The protesters chanted slogans against Karachi Major Wasim Akhtar. They also said that they were forced to fast because of unemployment.
During the KMC’s anti-encroachment operation that began last year, more than 400 shops were demolished in Arambagh and Lighthouse.
Of the total 646 shops, only 170 shops were allotted legally by the KMC.
The anti-encroachment drive began on the orders of the Supreme Court. The drive aimed to restore Karachi to its former glory by removing encroachments that disrupt traffic and leave little space for pedestrians.
Publish in Samaa.tv 18 November 2019