Lahore – Encroachments on footpaths including construction material, animal fodders, eatery shops and stalls in Gulberg, one of the posh localities of the city, Pakistan Today has learnt. Several areas in Gulberg including the Gurumangat Road, Halli Road, MM Alam Road, Shahrah-e-Noor Jahan, Ali Zaib Road, Mehmood Kasuri Road, Liberty Market, Ghalib Road, Sir Syed Road, Tipu Road, Mini Market and the Main Market are full of encroachments leaving no space for pedestrians.
The Lahore commissioner had issued clear directions to all district coordination officers (DCO) to clear footpaths from all sorts of encroachments, especially building material and heaps of garbage, before start of the monsoons until June 30. But the Gulberg Town administration has yet to launch an anti-encroachment operation.
Gulberg Town Administrator Saleha Saeed said that the anti-encroachment drive had been executed and the Town Municipal Administration (TMA) was working hard to remove encroachments and it had also been done several times before. She said that it was a baseless allegation that the TMA had not removed encroachments from footpaths. “The anti-encroachment cell removed encroachments from footpaths but encroachers soon returned,” she said.
“The menace of footpath encroachment, which has engulfed the Gulberg Town, has been willingly patronised by officials of town councils who usually encourage occupants of footpaths. The ultimate sufferers are pedestrians, including elderly people, women and children, who are deprived of their right to use footpaths,” Rafa Welfare Society President Javed Butt at the Gurumangat Road said.
He said that footpaths of the Gurumangat Road were the most affected, as people had been using them to sell building material including bricks, piles of sands, stones and concrete with impunity. Lahore DCO’s Personal Staff Officer Tariq Zaman said that the DCO had issued orders to launch a drive against those involved in dumping construction material on roads. He said that the drive would start from today (Sunday) and all town municipal officers (TMO) had been officially informed in this regard. Lahore DCO Ahad Cheema said that there was a complete ban on throwing construction material on roads and those found in throwing such material would have to face heavy penalty, he added.
A survey in Gulberg Town revealed that owners of eatery shops, restaurants and barbecue and fast food outlets had annexed portions of footpaths to accommodate their customers. The roads were constructed by the city administration or Punjab government to facilitate the general public. A budgetary portion is reserved for constructing footpaths along roads so that pedestrians could travel safely.
Encroachments on footpaths and roads are blamed for a large number of accidents involving pedestrians, as people are hit by fast-moving vehicles due to the narrow space left by encroachers for them to pass through. Shopkeeper Amjad Khan said that vendors make encroachments.
“We just put some of our products in front of our shops to save them from being encroached by vendors,” he said. Another shopkeeper Imtiaz Hussain said that the Punjab government should ban the entry of vehicles on narrow roads to avoid traffic problems.
