Administrator Karachi Laiq Ahmed on Thursday said that shopkeepers of KMC Jubilee Market will be provided alternative place for their businesses as encroachments on drains are being removed on directives of the Supreme Court.
Talking to a delegation of Jubilee Cloth Market at his office here, he said that KMC is not happy with the demolition of any market or house nor does it want to make people homeless or unemployed, as the majority of people doing business in KMCs markets belonged to middle class families.
The shopkeepers belong to the poor and middle class and their only source of livelihood was these shops but in the past these shops were built on drains which affected the drainage process and caused problem for the citizens, he added.
The delegation comprised President of Jubilee Cloth Market Association Ghani Memon and members Iqbal Abdul Aziz and M Asif besides Chairman Sindh Traders Ittehad Jamil Paracha while KMC’s Senior Director Coordination Khalid Khan, Senior Director Anti-Encroachment Bashir Siddiqui, Senior Director Estate ImtiazAbro, Director Land Tariq Siddiqui, Director Estate Imran Siddiqui and other officers were also present on the occasion.
He said that continuous increase in the population of Karachi could not withstand these drains and eventually the markets built on the drains had to be removed due to obstruction.
Senior Director Anti-Encroachment Bashir Siddiqui said that 164 shops were demolished in Jubilee Market so far while the rest are in the process of being demolished.
