Gujjar Nullah residents protest against anti-encroachment drive

People living along the Gujjar Nullah staged a protest on Saturday against the anti-encroachment drive being carried out in their areas.

Scores of people living in the surroundings of the Gujjar Nullah gathered near the Café Piyala and blocked the flow of traffic for hours, setting tyres on fire on the road.

The protesters claimed that they were living in the surroundings of the Gujjar Nullah for many years and no government official had stopped them when they were constructing their homes.

They also accused the government officials of taking bribes from them when they were building their homes and said that now the same government officials were claiming that those houses were illegal and should be demolished.

They demanded that alternative residences be given to the affected residents and strict action be taken against the government officials who had allowed the construction of those houses in the first place.

Later, a heavy contingent of the law enforcers reached the protest site and dispersed the protesters peacefully.

On Friday, the third day of the anti-encroachment operation on the Gujjar Nullah, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) in coordination with the District Central administration had cleared 100-foot space on both sides of the drain.