The Sindh High Court has instructed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to halt the anti-encroachment drive along the Orangi and Gujjar nullahs during Eid holidays.
During a hearing against the anti-encroachment drive on Friday, the court remarked that residents should not be evicted from their houses during the holidays.
The KMC and district administration began the anti-encroachment drive on February 25. Orangi and Gujjar nullahs are two of the three storm water drains that are being widened to ensure the smooth flow of rainwater.
In March, the residents of Karachi’s Orangi Town challenged the anti-encroachment drive along the nullah. Thirty-eight residents filed a petition in the Sindh High Court and said that they have been living in the area since the partition of Bangladesh, adding that they are ‘lawful’ and ‘legal’ owners of their houses.
The petitioners said they were given the lease under the Housing Scheme Act, 1987. They have connections to utilities such as electricity, gas, and water and pay bills.
On Thursday, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah directed the local government to prepare a plan to overhaul and reconstruct all the distributaries of three major nullahs, Gujjar, Orangi, and Mahmoodabad in the long term.
In the short term, the plan is to properly clean the distributaries before the monsoon. The chief minister decided to widen the existing Gujjar and Orangi nullahs from 35 to 80 feet and 20 to 40 feet, respectively. Their beds will be dredged and sewer trunks would be laid along them to separate sewage and storm water.
from SAMAA https://ift.tt/3f0Lvsj
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