CHINIOT – Encroachment have plagued every part of the main bazaar, residential and commercial areas. Citizens are suffering at the hands of encroachers in the main bazaar and bordering streets, especially Muslim Bazaar, Chowk Jathothan, Rail Bazaar, Mandar Road, Faisalabad Road, Lahore Road and Shahra-e-Quaid-e-Azam and Mudrassatul Binat Road.
The venders and shopkeepers have occupied footpaths, creating troubles for pedestrians, girl students and ladies come there for shopping. Vegetable, fruits, chicken, beef and mutton sellers with the help of local municipal officials have encroached many places in the main bazaars with their wooden and iron khokhas and throw their garbage on road. Now many unauthorized sign boards are brightly illuminating in main bazaar. Many sign boards are hanging like a jungle raj. Shop owners are putting sign boards at all available vacant wall in the bazaar.
Similarly, in the condition of Sargodha Road and Lahore Road which is specially occupied with large size of ramps and billiard tables where students of nearbly primary and high school not only waste their time but also gamble. The encroachments of the Furniture Market up to the square have been causing frequent traffic jams on such road for hours. It is note worthy that the road is the main passage to the city.
Some people have grappled the Shamlat land and have built markets and houses on such land but the district administration have badly failed to get the shamlat vacated from these grabbers.
The TMA kick started a number of anti-encroachment drives in the past but due to lack of consistency these drives have failed to produce results.
Ex-MNA joins PTI:  Former MNA Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh has formally announced joining the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) here on Saturday. He is a veteran politician of the area and elected as MNA in 1993 from Chiniot City. His decision to join Imran’s tehreek has been widely welcomed in the City circles.