The Railway land retrieving operation continued as the concerned authorities protested for the third day. According to the details, only 35 Marla land was recovered by the Railway Police on Thursday as the people being displaced protested against the drive. The Pakistan Railways launched a forceful campaign to retrieve more than 5,000 acres of land in possession of others all over the country.
On Thursday the railways police had scheduled to retrieve 5 kanal of land belonging to the railways but were able to recover only 35 Marla. The drive was halted when the MNA and MPA had asked the DS workshop to evacuate the commercial land before razing down houses and residences of the people. In the meanwhile 2 more people were injured during the protest as the police came in to action when people resisted evacuation. A free hand has been given to all divisional superintendents to retrieve land under occupation by coordinating with the district administration and police concerned. The people chanted slogan against the Pakistan Railway administration. Most of the people said that they had paid for the land and houses they were using. They said that the PR took money from them and now are forcing their eviction. They said that they were living and doing business in the area since decades and that they demand justice.
On the orders of the Supreme Court, railway authorities conducted a fresh survey of 176,690 acres and prepared details of 5,172 acres in illegal use of encroachers. The drive is functional throughout the country. The division-wise break up of the land under occupation is as follows; Lahore 2,993.070 acres, Quetta 635.478 acres, Karachi 408.970 acres, Peshawar 395.153 acres, Multan 286.696 acres, Sukkur 278.960 acres, Rawalpindi 130.340 acres and Mughalpura Workshops 43.720 acres.
