Mayor of Karachi, Murtaza Wahab, has vowed to take action against the illegal parking in the port city. Speaking to media, Murtaza Wahab said that the market owner cannot charge parking fees on the government road. He called out the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) saying that action will be taken against the people who are extorting money in the name of parking charges. Earlier, authorities decided to launch a major crackdown against illegal charged parking spots in Karachi, taking hold of port city to extort money from people. The then Additional Chief Secretary had directed the authorities to bring parking mafia and its facilitators to justice. He further directed to keep Traffic police and district administration on board during the crackdown. “A first information report (FIR) should be registered against the people involved in establishing illegally charged parking spots,” he added.

Manzoor Ali also directed the authorities to record names of contractors and complaint numbers at all parking spots. “Specific colors should be utilised to define no-parking, parking zones and footpaths”, he added. It is pertinent to mention here that charged parking spots sprang up in almost all the areas in Karachi, especially near the hospital, markets and public parks. Private persons are running some of the charged parking spots. This is not the first time a crackdown has been launched against illegal parking mafia of Karachi. Earlier in December, the Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to end illegally charged parking spots in the port city.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan