Around eight parks encroached on in North Nazimabad Town have been turned into ‘Shuhada Societies’, whereas the town administration has failed to curb these illegal activities. Apartments and town houses have already been constructed on parks land in blocks A, C, D, I, J, Q, S and T, and a few parks have been turned into garbage dumps, whereas more projects are under way. The mosques in the area have also been affected and worshippers as well as majority of the residents are distressed ever since a political party started these activities in the locality four years ago. Flats were sold for only Rs 200,000 each, whereas each plot of 200 square yards (sy) was also sold for only Rs 200,000 to party activists. No one is allowed to enter the encroached societies, each of which is known as a ‘Shuhada Society’.
“The Shafay Park was encroached on in 2007 by a strong political party’s activists, after which they started allotting flats to everyone,” a resident of block D told Pakistan Today on the condition of anonymity. Now these apartments are under construction, but six to seven families have settled in the completed flats five months ago. In the basement of the apartment building, a car parking has also been designed, whereas the contractor of the building has also set up his office in the basement, which he is using as a cattle farm as well. Another resident of block D said that since the North Nazimabad Town’s development planner had made a park and a mosque adjacent to each other in every block of the town, the illegal construction work is causing a lot of disturbance to worshippers during prayers.
The Siddiq-e-Akbar mosque and park in block I is a similar example.
A block I resident said that a political party had encroached on the park some four years ago and constructed 18 two-storey houses on 200sy each with a storey sold for Rs 200,000 apiece to its activists.
The Taj Mahal Park in block J is facing similar conditions. A block J resident said that a strong political party had encroached on the park four years ago and constructed around 40 to 50 houses, which were sold for Rs 200,000 to its workers only. The entire playground has been encroached on and the remaining park has been turned into a garbage dump. Majority of the people from New Karachi and Orangi Town have inhabited these houses and no outsiders are allowed to even step a foot on their streets.
The Parda Park was shared by blocks S and T until it was encroached on four years ago by a dominant political party of the area. Around 20 two-storey houses on 200sy each were constructed on the land, and every storey of these houses was sold for Rs 200,000 each to the political party’s workers. The Ashraf Masjid Park in block C was also encroached on by the same political party four years ago.
Around 40 two-storey houses were constructed on the park’s land with a four-walled boundary around the society. Another park located on the backside of the Shahrah-e-Noorjahan police station and near Kati Pahari in block Q was also encroached on four years ago by the same political party.
However, the houses constructed here are of three storeys, each of which was sold for Rs 200,000 to political workers only. The entire Hasrat Mohani Park in block A was encroached on by the same political party four years ago. Around 25 to 30 houses were constructed here and every two-storey house was erected on 200sy each. A resident of block A said that all these houses are enclosed within a four-walled boundary and the society is called ‘Shuhada Society’. He said that ever since the society was constructed in the block, the residents have been trying to deal with a lot of disturbance while praying at the adjoining mosque.
