Roadside encroachments, pushcarts and patharas which were removed by Rangers a couple of weeks ago from the main Empress Market, New Preedy Street up to Regal Chowk, on Sunday.
To the dismay of citizens, commuters and pedestrians, the roads and footpaths of Saddar Empress Market area which were retrieved from the encroachment mafia by the Rangers on Sunday were re-occupied by them.
Residents of the area say that resurfacing of patharas is the result of failure of police and civic agencies. They said as the fish could live without water, these corrupt officials could not survive without bhatta, and patharas were the easiest way to earn millions of rupees of bhatta income from this densely populated commercial area.
They said the patharas and pushcarts removed by the Rangers had been relocated to the CDGK car parking plaza and they used to come back to Saddar area in evening hours daily, and police, Rangers and KMC officials also know this fact. They said till making Saddar a ‘no-parking zone’ and implementing the second phase of bus re-rerouting in Saddar area, the lingering issue of patharas and encroachments could not be resolved.