RAWALPINDI: To make the city free from encroachments, the Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR) has issued over 500 notices to shopkeepers and road side vendors.
Talking to reporter, Municipal Chief Officer (MCO), Abass Bokhari said a massive crackdown would be launched on the encroachers, occupying public places and creating problems for pedestrians as well as motorists in the city markets and on roads, from Monday.
He said a full-fledged survey to identify the encroached areas and obstacles had been completed for the swift operation and ensuring smooth flow of traffic in the garrison city.
Ali said the MCR was making arrangements to shift the illegal stall vendors to alternate places, selected in ten areas so that this poor segment of the society could earn a respectable livelihood for their families.
He said the corporation could not allow anyone to encroach the state land, but it would ensure that poor vendors were not deprived of their livelihood by allocating them specified areas for doing business.
To make the operation successful, the Municipal Officer Regulations (MOR), Muhammad Imran said the city had been divided into six sectors where each sector-incharge would be responsible if there was any encroachment.
In the first phase, he said the Murree Road would be made a model artery by purging it of all kinds of encroachments. Imran said all stakeholders including local parliamentarians and traders were being taken on board to make the drive result-oriented. “No political pressure will be borne in this regard.”
The MOR warned the encroachers to voluntarily remove their illegal stalls and clear the state land immediately otherwise not only their goods would be confiscated but also FIRs would be registered against them.
Imran said MCR had started giving notices, and making announcement on loudspeakers, shopkeepers and roadside vendors have themselves started removing the encroachments.
The response in the city has been good and the MCR hope that the residents will cooperate.
“I have been visiting the markets and meeting shopkeepers and all were giving full support to the MCR campaign. “he added.