MARDAN: An operation was conducted to rid the Labour Colony of illegal occupants as majority of the residential quarters had been illegally occupied by the policemen, employees of the Excise and Taxation and other departments, and influential people.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Workers WelfareBoard Assistant Director Shahid Gul Wazir along with Assistant Commissioner Saman Abbas and local police on the order of the Peshawar High Court conducted an operation at the colony to evict the illegal occupants.
Talking to the media, Shahid Gul Wazir pointed out that before 2002 the Labour Colony came under the jurisdiction of the deputy commissioner. He added that in 2002 proper rules were made for the labour colonies of the province and these were put under the
jurisdiction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Workers Welfare Board. He said that according to the allotment regulations 2002, the labour colonies were specified for the use of workers of industrial sector. He admitted that majority of the houses were illegally occupied.
The official recalled that in 2014 the KP Workers Welfare Board issued notices to the illegal occupants but some of them moved the court to avoid being evicted. He added that the court directed the KP Workers Welfare Board that those living there illegally should be made to vacate the quarters.
He said that on the orders of the court notices were issued to the illegal occupants to vacate the quarters in 15 days, but they did not do so. He added that Assistant Commissioner Saman Abbas and the local police finally conducted an operation and got vacated 29 quarters.
However, some residents of the Labour Colony accused the KP Workers Welfare Board officials of favouritism. They alleged that the poor people were kicked out while the influential ones were spared.
The Labour Colony was established for the industrial workers on the Mardan-Nowshera Road opposite the Primer Sugar Mills in Mardan. There were a total of 290 quarters at the colony, but most were illegally occupied by the cops and employees of the Excise and Taxation and other departments.
