Fenced in: Shopkeepers to move court to stop Bhatta Chowk wall
MPA says wall necessary to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
LAHORE:
Shopkeepers have decided to move the Lahore High Court to stay the construction of a wall around their businesses at Bhatta Chowk, saying the barrier will destroy their livelihoods.
The MPA from the area says the wall is necessary to ensure the free flow of traffic at the chowk, which is in the final stages of a massive expansion project.
A few days ago, the National Logistics Cell began constructing a wall eight-feet high around the chowk. The wall will cover the slip roads on each side of the square. The length of each side is around 300 feet and will cover some 50 shops on each side, meaning about 200 shops will be affected.
The shopkeepers have been protesting against the wall since construction began on Saturday. A police contingent has been stationed there as were to make sure there is no confrontation.
“If they build the wall it will totally finish our businesses,” said trader Muhammad Fiaz. “We already lost money due to the expansion project because the government only paid us Rs0.8 million per marla for our properties when they are worth up to Rs4 million per marla.”
He said that the wall would reduce the value of their properties as it would leave only one entry and exit point for access to the 300-ft corridor of shops on either side. “No customer will want to walk all this distance to get to a shop that is in the middle. They will end up only going to shops near the entrance,” he said.
Fiaz said the shops also depended on the business of people in cars, but no vehicular traffic would be able to access the shops with the wall there. “There is no parking space for vehicles and traffic police will not allow them to park their cars on the road so we will lose their business as well,” he added.
Mehmood Bhatti, another trader, said that the Punjab government was “destroying our businesses” just so Bhatta Chowk would look nicer. “We tried to approach our elected representatives but they only give us words, no action,” he said. “We have now decided to go to court to stop the construction of the wall. Let’s see what happens.”Mian Naseer, the member of the Punjab Assembly from the constituency, told The Express Tribune that the wall was necessary to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at Bhatta Chowk. “Otherwise cars will continue to park in front of the shops and choke the traffic,” he said.
Naseer said that the government had bought the land and it could build the wall on its land if it wanted to. He said that shopkeepers had approached him and he had communicated their concerns to the authorities concerned. He said that it had been decided that the wall would be built five feet high with a four-ft wire barrier on top to prevent people from trying to climb over the wall.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2011.
Shopkeepers have decided to move the Lahore High Court to stay the construction of a wall around their businesses at Bhatta Chowk, saying the barrier will destroy their livelihoods.
The MPA from the area says the wall is necessary to ensure the free flow of traffic at the chowk, which is in the final stages of a massive expansion project.
A few days ago, the National Logistics Cell began constructing a wall eight-feet high around the chowk. The wall will cover the slip roads on each side of the square. The length of each side is around 300 feet and will cover some 50 shops on each side, meaning about 200 shops will be affected.
The shopkeepers have been protesting against the wall since construction began on Saturday. A police contingent has been stationed there as were to make sure there is no confrontation.
“If they build the wall it will totally finish our businesses,” said trader Muhammad Fiaz. “We already lost money due to the expansion project because the government only paid us Rs0.8 million per marla for our properties when they are worth up to Rs4 million per marla.”
He said that the wall would reduce the value of their properties as it would leave only one entry and exit point for access to the 300-ft corridor of shops on either side. “No customer will want to walk all this distance to get to a shop that is in the middle. They will end up only going to shops near the entrance,” he said.
Fiaz said the shops also depended on the business of people in cars, but no vehicular traffic would be able to access the shops with the wall there. “There is no parking space for vehicles and traffic police will not allow them to park their cars on the road so we will lose their business as well,” he added.
Mehmood Bhatti, another trader, said that the Punjab government was “destroying our businesses” just so Bhatta Chowk would look nicer. “We tried to approach our elected representatives but they only give us words, no action,” he said. “We have now decided to go to court to stop the construction of the wall. Let’s see what happens.”Mian Naseer, the member of the Punjab Assembly from the constituency, told The Express Tribune that the wall was necessary to ensure the smooth flow of traffic at Bhatta Chowk. “Otherwise cars will continue to park in front of the shops and choke the traffic,” he said.
Naseer said that the government had bought the land and it could build the wall on its land if it wanted to. He said that shopkeepers had approached him and he had communicated their concerns to the authorities concerned. He said that it had been decided that the wall would be built five feet high with a four-ft wire barrier on top to prevent people from trying to climb over the wall.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2011.