Land earmarked for ‘model’ market

The government of Punjab has approved the acquisition of 446 kanals of land from the private sector to set up a new vegetable, fruit and flower market in Rawat.

An amount of Rs106 million has been released for the project. The foundation stone of the market will be laid in March next year, and its construction will be completed over nine months.

This will be the first vegetable fruit flower market set up in Rawalpindi over the last 70 years. Farmers will be allowed to sell their cultivated vegetables, without paying a fee to the government.

District Market Committee Chairman Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmed said that Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has issued orders for its speedy completion. He added that regular cold storage would be set up at the market, along with large warehouses, which will be leased to dealers. The district market committee and the administration will also have a proper office at the market, he said. The Assistant Commissioner will also visit and monitor the market daily, he added.

The market to be set up at the entrance of the city and it will allow vendors from Rawalpindi, Kahuta, Klar Syedan, Kotli Satyan and Murree to purchase vegetables and fruits at their doorsteps through the transportation service.

Overall, the new initiative will be a model market. It will have clean water, drainage, a parking lot, and large waiting areas to combat extreme weather conditions. Trucks full of vegetables will be brought inside the warehouses. There will also be electricity and telephone facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2021.