Model Town residents for LEAs’ shifting

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

By Our Staff Reporter
Monday, 22 Mar, 2010
LAHORE, March 21: A good number of Model Town residents gathered on Sunday near the central park of the locality to reiterate their demands, especially immediate payment of compensation to terrorism-hit people and shifting of offices of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) elsewhere from residential portions.

A mushroom growth of commercial activities in residential areas was the other concern of the women and children protesters who also marched up to the DPS campus from the central park. `We have no roof left – 37-K’, read the placard carried by three-year-old Maheen in one hand and holding the hand of her two-year older sister Aiman with the other. “We have been living with our maternal aunt in F Block. Our home is no more,” she told this reporter. Her mother Mrs Mahmood said a team of the Model Town Society (MTS) had visited the premises around a week ago. “No word from them since then,” she said.

A resident of H Block, Advocate Mansoor H Khan, had copies of the notices he had on March 4 despatched to the Punjab chief minister, co-operatives department secretary, registrar co-operatives, besides MTS, asking them to take immediate measures to stop illegal commercial activities in residential areas, otherwise they would be held responsible in their personal capacity for any untoward incident.

“Four days later, the K Block was rocked. I am still awaiting a response from the quarters concerned who have committed dereliction of public duty,” said the lawyer.

Another resident Tamkinat Kareem wondered that the provincial government banned kite flying on the pretext of saving the lives of citizens but took no action to remove offices of intelligence and law-enforcement agencies from residential portions of the housing society in spite of two bomb blasts that killed several people, ruined the sense of security of its residents and caused loss to properties worth millions of rupees.

A former member of MTS managing committee, Dr Fauzia Ahmad, held the housing colony management and not the government responsible for the March 8 tragedy. “There are some 10 or so such offices still operating in Model Town and we are waiting for another tragedy,” she said.

Mrs Naila Anjum of 40-K, Dr Mubashir of 84-S and several others said that they would stage a sit-in in front of the chief minister’s residence if compensation was not paid to the affected people immediately.

“An assurance was given to us that compensation will be paid within seven days but still not a single rupee has been provided to any of the affected families,” Naila said and proposed that the whole society should be declared a non-residential locality if the management could not take any action against the commercial entities.

Model Town Residents Association (MTRA) president Amer Bakht Azam, managing committee members M Shoaib and Mateen Ahmad Rana said that the society bylaws did not permit commercial activity in residential portions.

They have appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Lahore High Court CJ Khwaja Sharif to take notice and order the Punjab high-ups to move the offices of law-enforcement agencies from Model Town to elsewhere.