When raids are conducted by civic agencies, shopkeepers remove the electricity connections and deny that they had permitted the vendors to set up stalls and pushcarts in front of their shops. Vendors who have stalls of ice creams, pop corns, potato chips, artificial jewellery etc allegedly enjoy the blessings of police. This is why after anti-encroachment drives, encroachers return and start their business as usual with the connivance of municipal officials and the area police. Officials of municipal administration and police have been accused of receiving protection money from traders for ignoring encroachments at these commercial centres. Sources said officials did not take action against shopkeepers and traders who displayed their items on footpaths, but they usually moved against poor Reheriwalas.
Shopkeepers deny the charge.
Similarly, roadside encroachments in Malir continue to thrive with the blessings of the area police. Shopkeepers have encroached upon major portions of the footpaths on Begum Khursheed Road and at Liaquat Market where motorists find little space, and traffic jams occur, resulting in wastage of time.