I HAVE been living in the PIA Employees Cooperative Housing Society (ECHS) in Karachi`s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area since 2005. This is purely a residential society where families have invested their life savings to live in peace and dignity.

Unfortunately, our neighbourhood has now become a victim of blatant illegality and administrative negligence. The adjacent plot (A-28) has been converted into an unlawful commercial hub.

In a semi-constructed structure, multiple tenants are operating two shops, a makeshift residentialquarter, afactory fabricating aluminium doors and windows, and a scrap dealership storing large piles ofplastie bottles,iron scrap and other hazardous material.

In essence, electricity is being drawnillegally, allegedly in connivance with staff of K-Electric (KE). The aluminium factory operates round the clock and generates unbearable noise pollution, while the scrap yard poses environmental and fire hazards. The constant hammering, machine cutting and loading activities have turned the once peaceful environment into a nightmare. Children are falling ill, elderly residents are distressed, and normal family life has become impossible.

Repeated requests to the land-owner have yielded no results. Formal complaints have been lodged with the society office and the KE authorities. Appeals were aired through social media platforms as well, tagging the commissioner of Karachi, the inspector-general of police, and the chief minister`s office. Yet, no meaningful action has been taken by anyone.

This is not merely a personal grievance; it reflects a broader collapse of regulatory enforcement in residential localities of Karachi. If residential zones are allowed to be overtaken by illegal commercial activities, supported by power theft and administrative silence, what protection remains there for the ordinary citizen? Dr Tasneem Ahmad Karachi