Tenants clash with police as over 60 shops sealed in Larkana

LARKANA: District officials sealed over 60 shops on New Bus Stand in Larkana on Friday, leading to confrontations between police and shopkeepers wielding clubs. The Larkana Municipal Corporation (LMC) handed the bus stand over to the Sindh government for a new Peoples Bus Service (PBS) terminal and issued eviction notices to 140 tenants resisting the move for weeks.

Mayor Anwar Luhar told reporters the shops would be cleared and demolished to allow the Rs200m project to proceed. During the operation, tensions rose as protesting shopkeepers and residents, armed with sticks, clashed with police. Traders blocked the main road, set tires ablaze, and held a sit-in, demanding the administration's decision be reversed.

Minor damage to the bus stand occurred during the stand-off. The Deputy Commissioner later met with the shopkeepers and transporters to discuss the matter. The sealing was conducted by Larkana Assistant Commissioner Raja Qureshi, the chief municipal officer, and police officers, targeting more than 60 commercial shops on the main road of the New Bus Terminal.

In 2010, then Nazim Nazim Qurban Abbasi had granted 800 shops to traders at the New Bus Stand. Shopkeepers, including those running transport businesses, auto shops, garages, and others, said they pay monthly rent and support their families. They protested against the eviction, warning the decision would leave thousands of families jobless and urged the administration to reconsider.

Deputy Commissioner Tariq Manzoor Chandio called for talks with the protesters, which led to the sit-in's cancellation.