Mall Road operation targets hotels, shops

According to the instructions from the Punjab government, the district administration is carrying out an operation to recover 20 kanal of land that was purchased under the Mall Road Hillside Acquisition Project for development of Murree City.

On Wednesday, the operation started at a residential hotel located on the Mall Road Hillside under the command of the Assistant Commissioner of Murree, Captain (retired) Arshad Iqbal, along with strong contingents of para force, civil defence, and Punjab Police.

The hotel was demolished through the use of heavy machinery during the operation.

According to the project, there are 10 residential hotels and more than 50 shops on Mall Road. In addition, the land acquisition collector has also instructed the owners to vacate hotel buildings and shops.

In the land acquisition process, the compensation would be made for the land, structures, and lost business.

On the other hand, those who are affected by the operation believe that hundreds of families earn their living through these hotels and shops and would lose their sources of livelihood, and hundreds of employees who have been working there for years would be unemployed.