Benazir Bhutto Medical College Occupants of Land
Karachi: The land behind the Benazir Bhutto Medical College (BBMC) is not occupied illegally but rather the 'encroachers' are the rightful owners of this property, said a senior official from the Revenue Department on the condition of anonymity.
He said that the on going feud about the demolition of the godowns behind BBMC to pave way for the development work of the college will be expedited soon. "As it is for the general welfare of the people we won't take much time to expedite the whole process but to call the rightful land owners 'encroachers' is not justified."
For the past few months, a dispute between the management at BBMC and godown owners at the back of the college is going on. The management claims that the land occupied by the godown owners is meant for the college whereas the owners say that their land is leased. Presently, a case pertaining to the dispute is being heard in the court.
Meanwhile, Land Inspector of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), Abdul Quyyum also agreed with the comments of the Revenue Department official and said, "The development work of the BBMC is being held up due to some administrative issues of the college and not because of the encroachment issue."
However, the project director and Dean BBMC, Hassan Dost Afridi, has another story to tell and refutes the claim that the issues befalling the BBMC are managerial in nature. Rather he says that in a recently held meeting with the finance secretary, he pointed out the fact that the land behind the college is "not allotted in anyone's name" and the supposed lease the owners claim to have has expired a very long ago. He said that there are four godowns and around 35-40 small quarters that come under the land which the godown owners claim to be theirs.
"The one person who claims the land as his own got it in an auction and this is not in his name even," explained the dean. He says that the building constructed at present is a temporary area for the medical college, "because understandably a medical college needs a bigger space than the one it is provided at the time being."
Explaining the amount of work that is being held up because of the land occupied by the encroachers, he said that till now, only the classrooms and sitting area for the students has been made. Apart from that administration block, laboratories for anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, forensic medicine and pathology and hygiene are waiting to be constructed for the past four months, for which he says the college will have to wait more. "Our efforts of the past few months are all in vain as the encroachers have refused to budge which is adding to our problems," says Afridi.
The medical college which was a part of the big plan of the Lyari Development Project has been mired with problems from day one. From the beginning the project was held up either due to held up payments or the meager salary offered to the professors or the absence of a proper admission policy.
Afridi says that the issues and problems are piling up for their ambitious project, adding, "What keeps us going is that the people of Lyari are supporting the development work in the area rather than opposing. This is a plus point and one which will get us through." The news
