Inadequate security arrangements at one of the busiest bazaars, the H/9 weekly bazaar pose a serious threat to thousands of people who visit the facility to purchase edible items at subsuidised rates.
Pakistan Today visited the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) weekly bazaar, located in Sector H/9 to find that all its eight walkthrough gates were dysfunctional. It was learnt that the gates have been out of order for the last two months. However, the civic body, which has recently been hogging headlines for alleged corruption, paid no heed to the issue.
A senior CDA official deputed at the bazaar told Pakistan Today that Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (IESCO) had cut off electricity supply to the bazaar for the past two months due to non-payment of bills. He added that no serious effort had been made by CDA high-ups since then for the restoration of electricity.
Instead of making the walk-through gates functional, the CDA befooled visitors and other law-enforcement agencies using unique tactics to give the impression that the gates were working.
They covered the cables of the gates and damaged sockets with pieces of cloth, lest they should not come to anyone’s notice. It was learnt that even before the power was cut-off, only three gates had been in working condition. The poor security arrangements do not end here, as the security officials deputed at the gates keep out of order metal detectors in their hands, making a show of screening people entering the bazaar.
CDA Inspector Raja Asad confirmed that the walkthrough gates had not been working for the last two months. “CDA and IESCO have an issue over unpaid bazaar electricity bills amounting to Rs 600,000…we are working on the issue,” he said. The consumers and stallholders were dissatisfied with the inadequate security arrangements made by the authorities concerned. It was noticed that customers who knew about the poor security arrangement seemed conscious and alert while shopping.
“The security measures taken are very poor…the walkthrough gates should be functional without any delay. We are not responsible if the CDA has not paid electricity bill to IESCO…we are regularly paying taxes and we need security,” said Sajid Khan, a visitor of the Sunday bazaar. The CDA had established a point in the bazaar manned by its staff to make announcements on loudspeakers, audible across the bazaar, to inform visitors in case an emergency.
But now due to the cut-off power supply, the loudspeakers are not working either. “Without electricity we cannot help people out,” said Maseen Shah, supervisor of the bazaar. The stallholders were of the view that poor security arrangements had affected their businesses badly. The H/9 weekly bazaar is one of the busiest bazaars of the city, to which approximately more than 30,000 people come regularly.
The visitors and shopkeepers have demanded the CDA chairman pay heed towards to the serious issue, as under the current circumstances, miscreants wearing suicide vests could easily enter the bazaar and casue irreparable damage.
