Sunday Bazaars remain flooded with rain water

LAHORE: Most of the Sunday Bazaars in the city including the ones in Green Town, Wapda Town and Model Town remained flooded with water although the recent rain spell ended on Thursday.

As the area designated for the bazaars remained inundated, most of the vendors’ stalls had to be set up on adjacent roads.

The shopkeepers said that the bazar administration showed no interest in clearing water and instead allotted stalls on the same spots. “I was asked to set up my stall in a muddy place. I shifted it closer to the road as no customer would have ventured that far,” Abdul Hafeez, a hawker at the Green Town bazaar said.

Visitors to these bazaars also faced problems in parking their vehicles as the spots previously used for parking had stalls set up on them.

A number of customers complained about the prices of fruits and vegetables. They said that second and third grade products were being sold to them for first grade prices.

The rate of onion rose by Re1 and was set at Rs16 per kg to Rs20 per kg. Most customers complained that the vendors were mixing low-quality items in the first-grade they were selling at Rs20 per kg.

The price of tomato rose from Rs6 per kg to Rs10 per kg. They were sold at Rs36 to Rs48 per kg (compared to Rs32 to Rs38 per kg last week).

The price of potato (new) fell by Rs2 per kg. It was fixed at Rs24 to Rs32 per kg but was being sold at Rs36 per kg.

Garlic (from China) was sold at Rs200 per kg although it was fixed at Rs180 to Rs184 per kg. Garlic (native) was sold at Rs180 per kg although the suggested price was Rs150 to Rs160 per kg.

The price of ginger (from Burma) was fixed at Rs75 to Rs80 per kg and that of ginger (from China) at Rs130 to Rs135 per kg signifying a Rs10 raise.

The rate of spinach rose by Rs5 per kg and was fixed at Rs8 to Rs10 per kg but it was being sold for up to Rs15 per kg.

The nominal price of brinjal rose by Rs2 per kg and to be fixed at Rs18 to Rs22 per kg, but it was sold at up to Rs25 per kg.

The price of cucumber (native) raised by Rs2 per kg and was being sold at Rs38 to 40 per kg.

Cauliflower and cabbage were missing from most of the Sunday bazaars. Their prices were fixed at Rs30 to Rs35 per kg (cauliflower) and at Rs20 to Rs24 per kg (cabbage).

The price of luffa was fixed at Rs24 to Rs28 per kg compared to Rs25 to Rs30 per kg last week, but it was being sold at Rs35 per kg.

The rate of tinda was fixed at Rs30 to 40 per kg (from Rs34 to Rs42 per kg last week), but it was being sold at Rs45 per kg. The price of bitter gourd rose by Rs2 per kg and was fixed at Rs26 to Rs32 per kg but was being sold at Rs35 per kg.

The price of pumpkin was fixed at Rs26 toRs32 per kg but most customers complained that even low quality stuff was sold at up to Rs35 per kg.

The price of okra increased by Re1 per kg and was fixed at Rs26 to Rs32 per kg but was mostly being sold at Rs35 per kg.

Among the fruits, banana (B-category) was being sold at Rs30 per dozen although the price was set at Rs20 to Rs24 per dozen (compared to Rs17 to Rs24 per dozen last week).

The rate of banana (A-category) was set at Rs34 to Rs40 per dozen (compared to Rs35 to Rs40 per dozen last week), but it was not available in most Sunday bazaars.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2010.