KARACHI - Rampant and unchecked corruption have badly affected the performance of the police officials, who even lobby for their postings at the most 'lucrative police stations, informed sources confided to The Nation on Wednesday. There are some 120 police stations in the metropolis and value of each of them is defined on the basis of lucrative chances for its employees to extort money from the citizens. The importance of a police station depends upon income, said an official of the police department on condition of anonymity, adding that it is difficult for the common man to get relief without yielding to the demands of the employees posted there. He pointed out that not only ordinary police but also the investigation officials as well as special branch employees evaluated the area with more chances of 'income. He explained that only an experienced police officer could understand the value of a police station. He further said that police stations in suburb areas were more attractive for the officials than those in posh areas. Police stations of Mangopir, Sachal, Sohrab Goth and several others in Gadap Town have much attraction for the officials owing to the business of Rati Bagri lifting which is an illegal act but provides ample chances of huge bribes, he added. The official continued that police stations in Maripoor, Sohrab Goth, Sachal and Shah Latif areas are also important due to the farmhouses there from where police charge money for each dance party. Source in Gadap Town police said that one Madad Ali Shah, who poses himself as head of Gadap Town special branch, collects huge amount from farmhouses and from the people involved in Rati Bagri business. Every farmhouse owner pays Rs2,000 to Rs5,000 to the operation police and Special Branch Police per week for providing illegal security to their events. On the other hand, areas such as Sadder, Liaquatabad, Water Pump, Malir Bazaar, Landhi, Korangi, Orangi Town and others are valuable because of pushcarts whose owners also pay weekly to the concerned police station to get permission in order avoid any action against them. Source privy to the matter told that police usually choose a man among the pushcart holders and make him responsible for weekly collection, not only for police, but also for Special Branch Police, Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) and other concerned departments. Bashir, a pushcart holder at Water Pump market in Block 16, F.B Area within the jurisdiction of Yousf Plaza Police Station, said that there were more than 250 pushcart holders and cabins in the market and each of them pays Rs150 weekly to each department. Gull Khan, another pushcart holder at Sohrab Goth, told that it was impossible to run business without giving bribe to the police. He told that despite money, policemen also take things from pushcart owners without paying money. It is pertinent to mention here that Gulberg Town police had started action against policemen involved in extorting money from pushcarts and roadside stall owners but failed to eliminate corruption. Azizabad DSP Sultan Khan said he has distributed leaflets in the markets with contact numbers so that the shopkeepers could lodge complaints against corrupt policemen. He informed that he has issued notices to the police personnel involved in such rackets warning them of strict action. To a query, Sultan said that he had been informed that some policemen were taking bribe from the pushcarts on weekly basis and let them run their business in Azizabad. A source privy to the matter told that the policemen called the bribes taken from vendors 'Weekly Beat. Police collects million of rupees weekly form pushcarts only which is later distributed from bottom to top, a police official said on basis of anonymity, adding that police officials use influence for postings in 'lucrative areas like Liaquatabad Supermarket, Water Pump, Quaidabad, Orangi Town, Malir, Korangi and others.