Anti-encroachment drive: traders call for taking Bazaars' associations on board

Trading community of Peshawar on Tuesday asked district administration for taking the traders' associations of bazaars into confidence before initiating anti-encroachment operation. The proposal was presented during a meeting of the delegation of Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran, which called on him here. President, Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajiran, Malik Meher Elahi led the delegation.
Those who attended the meeting includes Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Shahid Ali Khan, SSP Traffic Riaz Ahmad, SP Traffic Shah Jehan Khan, Nazim Town-I, Zahid Nadeem, DSP Traffic Arab Nawaz Khan, DSP Traffic City, Imran Khan, office-bearers of traders' organization, Shaukat Ahmad Khan, Ihtesham Haleem, Shakeel Ahmad, Haji Afzal, Khurram Shehzada and presidents of the different bazaars of the district.
During the meeting, the traders told the Deputy Commissioner in detail about different problems including encroachments on Ashraf Road. They also complained of the rampant illegal auto-rickshaws and handcarts, which are creating traffic related problems and adoption of alternative routes to arrest traffic jam issue due the construction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project.
The delegation also asked the administration for making traffic police and town municipal administration (TMA) bound for treating shopkeepers with honour and respect, so the incidents like Ashraf Road would be averted. They requested against increase in the fees of the trade licence and its collecting on annual basis. They also proposed conducting of police station level anti-encroachment operation. After hearing the problems and grievances of the traders, the Deputy Commissioner pledged that the problems of trading community would be resolved on priority basis.
Meanwhile, district administration Peshawar Tuesday arrested 22 persons from different areas of the district for re-erecting encroachments. The district administration has conducted an anti-encroachment operation in Palosai Chowk, Forest Bazaar and University Road and after arresting of the most of shopkeepers directed them for the removal of their encroachments. However, they ignored the directives and re-erected encroachments.