Eight shopkeepers were detained for staging a protest against the anti-encroachment drive at Jubilee Market on Wednesday.
Heavy machinery reached the site early morning to demolition 25 shops built on a stormwater drain.
At least 164 shops in the market have been built on the nullah.On Wednesday, the shopkeepers tried to stop the drive.
Some staged a sit-in, while others laid down in front of the heavy machinery. The police, however, detained them and baton-charged others to disperse them.
The demolition work has started and will continue for the next few days, the authorities said.
KMC had reportedly issued notices to the shopkeepers to vacate the shops on the instructions of the Supreme Court.
Jubilee Market is one of Karachi’s old and busiest markets. On July 1, it was sealed after 11 shops collapsed there.
A portion of the shops built on a stormwater drain in Soldier Bazaar collapsed. This included shops selling unstitched clothes, sewing machines, and electronic items.
Thirty years ago, the area used to be called Jubilee Cinema. The shops were built on the stormwater drain on the opposite side of the building.
