The city of overhead businesses

Fortune-tellers, precious stones sellers, and palmists set up shops on overhead bridges across the city.


Azam Khan September 20, 2010

RAWALPINDI: Fortune-tellers, precious stones sellers, palmists and quack dentists have set up shops on overhead bridges across the city.

These bridges were originally built so that pedestrians could cross over highways and fast moving traffic without risk of injury. They are now becoming commercial areas.

“I earn a sizeable income from this business,” said Nadeem Shafi, a quack dentist who runs two makeshift clinics on Pohri Pul, a busy overhead bridge on a railway track in Saddar, and on Shamsabad overhead bridge on Murree Road.

“I normally make around Rs500 a day from these clinics,” he said.

Vendors selling eatables, sunglasses, toys, cheap household and daily use items such as radios and wrist watches, have encroached up to 3 feet of space on these overhead bridges.

Faisal Jadoon, an official of Tehsil Muncipal Administration (TMA), said the authority tried to remove these encroachers from time to time but failed to eradicate the practice.

It difficult for pedestrians to use these overhead bridges, especially at night, when beggars start using the
stairs as makeshift beds, said Javed Hameed, a resident of Railway Colony Dhoke Mangtal.

“Beggars on these bridges have adopted a new tactic; they pretend to be mentally retarded and snaffle your
leg or shirt and refuse to let you go until you give
them some money,” said Khalada, who was crossing the railway track on food instead of using the overhead bridge.

“Sometimes they pretend to be masons and ask for money with the excuse that they failed to get work for the last 5 or 6 days,” she said.

Talking to the Express Tribune, a precious-stones seller, who had set up shop at one of the overhead
bridges, revealed that he was a government servant
working as a peon in the morning and sold precious stones as a side-business by night.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2010.

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