LAHORE
The Tollington Market, which was once famous for bakery items and groceries, has been turned into a filthy and unhygienic business centre due to mismanagement by the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) authorities, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The market located in Shadman has 107 shops and receives more than 500 visitors daily. But citizens are unhappy with the current state of affairs at the market. “The first thing a person notices about the market is thestench as you approach the area … you can smell it from almost one kilometre,” said Waqas, a local resident.
With chicken feathers spread all around, broken aisles, a puddle filled with blood, a broken sewerage line at the market’s backside, rotten meat lying everywhere and presence of stray dogs has made the market one of the most unhygienic places in Lahore. Shakeela, a resident of Shadman, said, “I only visit this market when I need to buy something urgently otherwise I go to another market, which is more hygienic.”
The Tollington Market has one main aisle located on the inner side of the building where illegal stalls are established, making it hard for citizens to move around. Waste material is dumped in the walking area and blood can be seen almost everywhere in the market. Imtiaz, a citizen said, “There is no proper waste management system in the market.”
Tollington Market President Sheikh Attiqur Rehman seems helpless. “A lot of promises are made by government officials everyday but nothing is done to solve the hygiene problems. Even the DCO can’t do anything about it,” Attique said. “How much can we do about this on our own? The government should help us to counter this problem,” he added.
Attique said that government officials had promised several times to cover the open drain at the market’s backside but no action had been taken so far. The Tollington Market president said that chicken stores were supposed to be shifted to the market’s backside for solving the problem of presence of chicken feathers but the government had done nothing in this regard. He said that due to filthy conditions, no one was ready to buy a shop in the market due to which a number of shops were lying vacant.
“No one wants to buy a shop in the market,” he said. The Tollington Market president said that the market’s financial value was falling and nothing was being done for the market’s betterment. He said that superstores such as Al-Fateh and Punjab Store were present in the market but had closed their shops due to unhygienic conditions.
Attique said that he wanted kennels to be shifted outside the market. “Do you think that people will like to buy bakery items and groceries from the market when dogs are tied near food items? Let’s see if the newly-appointed DCO can do anything about the situation,” he said. The Tollington Market president urged the CDGL to take action, as the problems confronting the market were increasing every day.
Talking to Pakistan Today, District Officer Environment Tariq Zaman blamed the market administration for the problems of the market. Quoting example of the Liberty Market, he said that it was up to the market management to keep the market place clean.
Zaman said that it was the responsibility of the market union to place the garbage of the market at one place so that the Solid Waste Management Department could collect it for proper disposal.
