Buyers shun Urdu Bazaar, say traders
People face difficulty in back to school shopping in Urdu Bazaar. Photo: Express
Like any other area of the provincial capital, the Old City Area has been left flooded with rainwater and sewage after the consecutive spells of monsoon rains. The muddy water lies on roads causing encumbrance to commuters and traders.
Moreover, home to the country's financial and trade hub, the locality also houses the Sindh Assembly, Sindh Secretariat, Sindh High Court, City Courts, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), and wholesale markets of cloth, yarn, plastic, paper, books, etc.
The city's largest cluster of books and stationery stores, Urdu Bazar, is reeking with the stench of overflowing gutters. Shopkeepers said that repeated downpours hampered the waste collection work resulting in heaps of garbage rotting in sewage.
The shopkeepers also said that people avoid coming to markets due to such a filthy environment. Schools are set to open in the coming weeks, but the book and stationery shops have very few of buyers, they said while lamenting losses to the business.
Traders said lawmakers and administration officers only review the main roads, but when we ask to review the inner streets and neighbourhoods, they pay no attention.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2022.