Pre-partition market: Bread basket in the waiting room of history

Bahawalpur’s grain market falling apart without govt attention.

BAHAWALPUR:

The grain market in Bahawalpur, which opened for wholesalers in 1946, has not had any upgrade or overhaul of infrastructure since it launched.

The market, established by Nawab Sadiq Khan IV over 25 acres of land, is the biggest grain market in the Punjab.

Rao Aqeel, a broker, says the market is frequented by small farmers and business of millions of rupees is conducted everyday.

Since it opened in 1946, the market has not been renovated or upgraded.

The roads leading to the market are damaged and Aqeel says farmers have complained about the difficulties in reaching the market to sell their goods.

For Aqeel, the biggest problem is a poor drainage and sewerage system.

“The sewerage system has never been upgraded. When it rains, the market is submerged in water,” he says.

Aqeel then points to heaps of garbage in the centre of the market.

“There is a small cleaning staff employed at the market,” he says. “They often do not show up and when they do, they don’t do a good job.”

He also points out the absence of streetlights. “When the sun sets, it gets so dark that the building is almost invisible,” he says.

He also laments the poor security around the market.

“Because there is no security, goods at the market are often stolen,” he says.

Fire safety is also a concern for the brokers. Aqeel says there is no fire safety mechanism and if a fire broke out, many people could suffer great losses.

Muhammad Kashif, another broker, says there is no safe drinking water facility for people who visited the market.

“There are no seating arrangements for people who travel long distances to sell their goods here,” he says. “We can’t even offer them water to drink.” He says an electronic daily rate list had broken down and there was no mechanism to control prices. He says some rooms built for travelling brokers had been rented out. Kashif says some brokers got together to complain to the market  chairman but no action was taken. He says the market committee’s accounts department committed fraud every month by presenting fake bills.
Market Committee Chairman Tahir Mehmood Janbaz was unavailable for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2014.