Encroachment in commercial market of Satellite Town is causing traffic mess

[Salman]

RAWALPINDI - Encroachment in commercial market of Satellite Town is causing traffic mess.

The encroachers occupied the area by establishing stalls across the road, which is creating inconvenience for the transporters and the pedestrians. Residents and civil society lodged protest against the encroachments. “Vendors and their stalls are hampering the smooth traffic flow and causing road accidents”, said a local resident.
The residents have demanded of concerned authorities to take action against the encroachment in the area.
Meanwhile, encroachments on roads and markets in different areas in Bhara Kahu are on the rise creating problems both for the pedestrians and motorists. It is a common sight in the market of the town that shopkeepers encroach upon pavements in front of their shops while vendors set up stalls on roads, forcing pedestrians to walk in the middle of roads, besides hindering traffic flow.
“The authorities concerned always claim to launch anti-encroachment drives, which are mostly aimed at small vendors or stall-holders,” residents of Bhara Kahu said. A shoppers at Bhara Kahu market said it had become almost impossible to walk freely in the market because of encroachments on footpaths.
The local administration is responsible to remove encroachments from the footpaths and roads, but it has failed to do so, they added. When contacted, an official of the Enforcement Directorate of Capital Development Authority (CDA), said the authority launched anti-encroachment campaign drives to keep the roads and foot paths clear.
It was a wrong impression that the CDA was not cognizant of the situation, he said and warned the shopkeepers and vendors not to encroach upon footpaths, otherwise strict action would be taken against them.
HRCP to launch annual report: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) will release its annual report on Wednesday in Islamabad. The “State of Human Rights in 2011” will be launched at a press conference at a local hotel.
The press conference will be addressed by Ms Zohra Yusuf, Chairperson, HRCP, Mr Kamran Arif, Co-Chairperson, HRCP, Ms. Hina Jilani, Former Secretary General, HRCP and Mr IA Rehman , Secretary General, HRCP.