Eleven cops were injured in clashes as the Hyderabad police resorted to aerial firing and massive teargas shelling on Tuesday to remove encroachments for building a 24-foot wide road and restoring an abandoned irrigation channel of the irrigation department in Qasimabad.
An unspecified number of people, including some policemen, were injured as clashes broke out in Bhitai Town off Jamshoro road when a heavy contingent of police along with administration officials arrived in the area to demolish encroachments.
The drive led to a strong reaction from those living in the encroached structures as they pelted officials with stones, smashing panes of a couple of government vehicles. The drive was underway even after sunset.
Hyderabad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zainul Abideen Memon told Dawn.com that 11 personnel were injured.
“We have to build a 24ft-wide road from Karan Khan Shoro to Wadhu Wah,” said DC Memon, who reached the area following stiff resistance by residents that caused the suspension of the anti-encroachment drive.
More police forces subsequently arrived in the area and the electricity supply to the area remained disconnected.
“We are procuring machinery to clear the path by demolishing the structures,” Memon said. He added that an around one-kilometre stretch remained to be cleared of the encroachments.
