Melody Food Park, once a popular dining spot, gives a dirty look owing to the debris of the kiosks and kitchens being razed months ago by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) during its anti-encroachment drive.
The civic body during the drive demolished three illegally constructed shops along with dozens of eateries and fiberglass canopies in the market, despite strong resistance of owners and employees of the food chains.
Talking to Pakistan Today, a shopkeeper, Arsalan, said that the CDA officials razed the kiosks and shops within no time, but the debris is still lying on the ground despite the lapse of many months, which is a source of nuisance for the visitors as well as shopkeepers.
He demanded of the authority that since officials of the civic body demolished their kiosks and kitchens, they should now remove the remains of the destroyed structures from the market forthwith, which is negatively affecting their business.
Talat, an employee working in a food outlet, said that a drastic decrease of the visitors has been witnessed due to dirt and filth.
He said that most of the people visited along with their families to the food park to dine in the open sky; however, now they preferred to avoid coming here because of the debris.
“Melody Market was very popular for its street food. It was a food paradise and a great source of entertainment for the people, however, it lost its charm now and it is no longer a popular dining spot,” said, Matiullah, once a regular visitor to the food street.
He said that once people loved to come here along with their family to dine; however, now it presented a deserted look, which speaks volume about the fact that it lost its attraction for the visitors, especially due to the government’s ill-conceived planning.
It is surprising to note that the authority had no knowledge of the debris in the market, even though the civic body demolished the kiosks and kitchens only a few months ago during its much trumpeted anti-encroachment drive.
Talking to Pakistan Today, CDA spokesperson Malik Saleem, after seeking some time, admitted that they have no knowledge pertaining to the debris of the demolished structures in the market.
He further added: “All the inspectors of the Directorate of Enforcement have been issued strict directives to remove the debris at the earliest; otherwise challans would be registered against them”.
He said that the remains of the demolished shops would be removed from the market soon.
