Business community assures cooperation

RECORDER REPORT

PESHAWAR: Business community has assured district administration of its full cooperation against encroachments in different bazaars and asked for shifting of the pushcarts, vendors to an open area away from busy roads, streets to resolve the issues on permanent basis.

According to a statement the traders took the decision in a joint meeting held with Mujeebur Rehman in the chair here on Sunday. The office bearers of various unions of traders were in attendance.

Expressing serious concern over the increase in encroachments on main roads and in various streets both in cantonment and city areas and suggested that the vendors, handcarts pushers be shifted to an open area to facilitate the customers and avoid traffic congestion.

Traders’ leaders including Shaukatullah Hamdard, Zafar Minhas, Muhammad Aftab, Shaikh Aslam and many others shared views about the negative impact of encroachments in various bazaars and said that they had held several meetings with officials of relevant departments including cantonment board Peshawar but the problems still persisted.

In cantonment areas, they said the worst affected areas include Nauthia Bazaar, Arbab Road, Liaquat Bazaar, Shafi Market, and Sunehri Masjid Road where influential vendors had set up mini shops on permanent basis but no action against them was taken.

They also pointed that movement of pedestrians had become very difficult in Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Ashraf Road, Rampura, Nishtarabad, Hashtnagri, Bacha Khan Chowk and Charsadda Road due to the presence of pushcarts, illegal parking.

The traders assured that they would not create any problem in case stern action was taken against the encroachers. “We will extend full cooperation to the administration against the illegal occupants of footpaths and service roads,” they assured.