LAHORE, Dec 30: Realising that Sunday bazaars setup across the province mostly failed to deliver in terms of quantity, quality and prices, the Punjab industries department has started work on a pilot project envisaging ‘model bazaars’ in five cities of the province on the pattern of a successful initiative taken in Islamabad.
To begin with, the department has taken up five permanent Itwaar bazaars being run in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Bahawalpur and Gujranwala as pilot project.
Under the project, not only the space of these Itwar bazaars would be enhanced up to two acres but provision of good quality stuff would also be ensured at wholesale rates within three to four months, an industries department official told Dawn on Thursday.
He said approximately Rs10 million would be spent on the infrastructure building and acquiring necessary land for each bazaar. In this connection, the district coordination officers (DCOs) concerned had been directed to prepare feasibility of each bazaar along with the cost estimates, he added.
The official said more model bazaars would be set up in the province if the pilot project went well.
Sources privy to the development told Dawn that chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, after receiving complaints of lowquality stuff and rate-list violations at Itwaar bazaars, had directed the department to set up ‘model bazaars’ in the five cities on the pattern of the 15-acre such establishment being successfully run in Islamabad.
The sources said following the chief minister’s orders, a provincial steering committee led by MNA Afzal Khokhar and comprising three MNAs, an MPA, three divisional commissioners and the provincial secretary of industries department had been constituted for executing the pilot project.
They said according to the plan the provincial government would bear the initial expenses of the project while it was envisaged that these establishments would become self-sufficient and generate enough income to support their running costs.
They claimed the managements of these model bazaars, comprising officials of different departments concerned, would not only monitor quality and quantity of vegetables, fruits and other grocery items to be put on sale but also ensure wholesale prices. The vendors would also be getting proper margin, they added.
The Punjab prices and supplies board of industries department has been regulating 144 Itwaar bazaars, including 16 in Lahore, for the last several years.
Though prices are generally 10 to 15 per cent lower in Itwar Bazaars as compared to the open market, people complain of low-quality stuff and non-availability of some items.
Amina Batool of Green Town, a regular visitor to Itwar bazaars, says vegetables are usually better in quality than fruits. She, however, complains that necessary items like onion and tomato are sometimes not available in the bazaar because of low prices set by the management.
She said the government must ensure the availability of good stuff at subsidized rates at these bazaars.
Tallat Mehmood of DBlock, Wapda Town, said: “I failed to find onion and tomato at Wapda Town Itwar Bazaar by afternoon as tomato disappeared from stalls early and onion was not put on sale because of low official price. If the government could not ensure availability of basic items at affordable rates at Itwar bazaars how would it ensure this in model bazaars.”
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