City government given till Oct 9 to submit reply
Photo: Online
Traders working at Karachi’s Shahabuddin Market in Saddar have taken the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to court over relocation problems.
The Shahabuddin Market and Parking Plaza project, which is located right behind Empress Market, was started in 2007. Many shopkeepers who were working at the old Shahabuddin Market were relocated to a temporary market in Lines Area. Their shops were demolished during the ‘anti-encroachment’ operation in Karachi.
The KMC has relocated the shops of the traders to a new market near Saddar Parking Plaza, said the city government’s lawyer Sameer Ghazzenfer.
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The traders are, however, now claiming that the new shop has no amenities such as electricity, water lines, or even toilets.
The court has summoned the KMC assistant director to October 9 in the case.
Meanwhile, another petition against the demolition of some heritage sites near Empress Market has been filed too. The petition says that public property cannot be encroached on by anyone according to the law.