HYDERABAD: A rift between the office of the station commander and district administration caused by undue interference in the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in the city by an impersonator was avoided when Deputy Commissioner Mautassim Abbasi called on Station Commander Brig Raja Ejaz on Friday to sort out the matter.

The two officials agreed that the drive should continue without any hindrance.DC Abbasi, along with SSP Irfan Baloch, informed Brig Ejaz that an employee of his [latter`s] office on Thursday evening posing himself as an army officer tried to prevail upon the anti-encroachment cell staff to stop them from continuing with their operation in the Mobile Market area. Cantonment SHO Abdul Razzaq accompanied the impersonator, he said. The DC said that the impersonator and the SHO almost came to blows with the HMC cell`s staff after creating an ugly situation there. However, he added, the city assistant commissionerintervened to prevent the situation from getting worse. He said the unpleasant incident might have caused tension between the HMC and Cantonment Board Hyderabad (CBH) which must be avoided.

Brig Ejaz assured the DC of his full cooperation in the antiencroachment drive within the cantonment areas of the city.

Local journalists observed that the impersonator`s interference allegedly coupled with Cantonment SHO`s support to him encouraged encroachers of the road running parallel to the SRTC Complex tooffer stiff resistance to the demolition team. The anti-encroachment drive across the city has been launched under a directive of the Sindh High Court.

Although the Mobile Market road is owned by the HMC, the contract for parking on it is awarded by the CBH. Cantonment Executive Officer (CEO) Rana Khawar was once quoted as saying that it`s the contractor who had allowed vendors to have their businesses along the road. Some encroachers are even occupying a portion of the plot belonging toarmy`s divisional headquarters.

DC Abbasi told Dawn that he was satisfied with his meeting with the station commander, who offered his full support to the anti-encroachment drive. He said that the HMC cell along with its CBH counterpart would remove encroachments within the limits of the cantonment.

When contacted, CEO Khawar told Dawn by phone from Karachi that he did not have details of the Thursday incident. He said he would look into the matter on his return to the city [Hyderabad].