HYDERABAD: Several multistoried buildings and smaller structures in an upscale commercial area along Autobhan Road in Latifabad were completely or partially demolished on Monday night and Tuesday.

The major anti-encroachment drive is aimed at laying a sewerage drain and building a road at a cost of Rs2,500m as part of a scheme to rehabilitate Autobhan Road and its drain.

The drive was earlier deferred due to litigation involving the Anti-encroachment Tribunal. Owner of one of the noticed buildings a famous old furniture shop had invoked jurisdiction of the tribunal but lost his case. He had moved the tribunal against an order of the Latifabad assistant commissioner directing him to remove encroached part of the building.

The buildings completely or partially demol-ished had ground plus one to six floors. A bakery outlet, a furniture market, offices and food outlets exist in these commercial spaces.

Construction of the drain being built along the road cannot be undertaken unless these structures are removed.

The furniture shop owner (litigant) has built a house behind his shop and later conceded that he had encroached upon some government space, according to Commissioner Bilal Memon.

Owners of these buildings were given some time to remove their furniture, fittings and fixtures before the start of the drive.

The lease in the case of the furniture shop was cancelled and Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) also cancelled the layout plan under an executive order issued by the commissioner. One of the buildings housed even the office of a former SBCA regional director.

Autobhan Road once used to be a residential area of Latifabad and commercial spaces started emerging in the early 2000. Now it isthe most expensive area in terms of property value. Illegal allotment of land was also done by Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) on the basis of documents approving `additional land grant`. Such allotments were cancelled or found to be fake.