Akbar Road bike market shut for 4th day as traders in Karachi await settlement

It has been the fourth day since district authorities sealed over 100 shops in the Akbar Road motorcycle market over encroachment violations. However, after submitting written assurances of compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the district administration, shopkeepers are hoping their businesses will reopen soon.

Akbar Road, commonly known as Akbar Market, is one of the largest hubs for buying and selling motorcycles in the metropolis. On a normal day, the road remains jam-packed due to motorcycles being displayed by shopkeepers along both sides of the road and footpaths, making it difficult for commuters and residents of adjacent areas to move freely.

Residents of the adjacent locality said that every year, during anti-encroachment drives, the district administration seizes motorcycles and stalls set up on roads and footpaths, after which traffic can move freely. However, they added that this situation rarely lasts even a week, as encroachments soon reappear.

Shopkeepers say they have paid Rs5,000 each in fines, file affidavits pledging compliance with SOPs

During a visit to the market on Tuesday, it was observed that the scene was markedly different; shops on both sides of the road were sealed, and employees and shop owners were seen sitting outside their closed shops, waiting to reopen after submitting affidavits to the district commissioner’s office, South.

Karachi Motorcycle Dealer Association Chairman Muhammad Ahsan Gujjar told a private news channel that on Jan 3, the district administration had sealed at least 95 shops over encroachment as they were displaying bikes on the road and footpath.

He added that he had spoken to the assistant commissioner South, who assured him that after submitting affidavits pledging not to violate SOPs in the future, the shops would be reopened and de-sealed soon.

Referring to the losses being suffered by traders due to the sealing of shops, Mr Gujjar said that daily between 1,500 and 2,000 new motorcycles are sold in the market. He added that this activity used to generate millions of rupees for the government in the form of sales tax, registration fees and transfer fees.

“Today is the fourth day since the shops were sealed, and an estimated loss of millions of rupees is being incurred,” he claimed.

While responding to a query on whether the district administration had informed shopkeepers in advance about the encroachment drive, the market association president, Aqeel Sheikh, said that shopkeepers had been informed earlier, and motorcycles were removed from the roads. However, he claimed that the Jan 3 operation was carried out without prior notice from the authorities.

He alleged that car denters and painters blocked the streets surrounding the Preedy police station, while pickups at Regal Chowk were also obstructing traffic, yet no action was being taken against them.

He added that Akbar Road is a major market where traders, who are taxpayers, generate millions of rupees in revenue, but it was they who were being “subjected to injustice”.

A traffic police official at the Preedy police station said that a single-lane parking is allowed and that vehicles parked in no-parking zones or double lanes are fined.

Responding to a question about whether the display of motorcycles blocking Akbar Road constituted a traffic violation, the officer said that shopkeepers usually park bikes for display on footpaths and roads as well, which falls under the jurisdiction of the anti-encroachment department.

However, he added that if the authorities do not take action and traffic flow is affected, the traffic police intervene, particularly in cases of double-lane parking.