Weekly markets' closure irks citizens

Residents and traders have launched protests after implementation began to shut down the decades-old Friday and Sunday bazaars on more than two acres of government land near the Divisional Public School Road and the central chicken wholesale market in Shamsabad, where garbage, illegal parking and sewage water have occupied much of the site.

Thousands of residents from surrounding localities demonstrated after vendors were forced to set up stalls on the ground near heaps of garbage and stagnant sewage water instead of designated spaces. Women shoppers faced severe difficulties purchasing vegetables, fruits, spices and daily essentials, while several children slipped into the sewage water.

The land was earmarked for Tuesday, Friday and Sunday markets on the directives of former president Gen Ziaul Haq.

The Tuesday market was discontinued around 25 years ago, leaving only the Friday and Sunday bazaars.

Residents alleged that influential individuals had gradually encroached upon the valuable commercial land, while the remaining space had been converted into a dumping site for garbage, waste containers and illegally parked vehicles.

Rainwater from showers ten days ago also remains stagnant due to poor drainage, spreading foul smell throughout the market.

The once-spacious market has reportedly shrunk to about 100 feet because of encroachments, illegal parking and waste dumping. Hawkers were prevented from setting up stalls, forcing them to display vegetables, fruits and spices on the ground.

Local residents and traders, including Niaz Ali, Raja Fayyaz, Wajid Ali and Asghar Khan, said the market had long provided affordable shopping for nearby communities, particularly women who could walk there to buy vegetables, fruit, spices and chicken.

They urged the deputy commissioner to visit the site, clear the government land and restore the Friday and Sunday bazaars.