The Metro Bus Project (MBP) may be a milestone in facilitating citizens commuting between twin cities but it has run over two ‘sasta bazaars’.
The two markets, one in cantonment and other in Potohar Town, have vanished as the project executors did away with the two bazaars while aligning the route for the new bus service, depriving the locals of a much-needed facility that had been of great convenience for the last several years.
While abandoning the Pothohar Town sasta bazaar, the local administration has handed over the affairs of the market to a local, who calls all the shot while charging entry fee from vendors, who in return, charge exorbitant prices from citizens visiting the market.
Sources said that the TMA Potohar Town and the market committee have handed over the affairs of the bazaar to a local, Hafeez, who is reportedly charging extra Rs 100 from each vendor, who jacks up prices of edibles to compensate the charges.
Moreover, two Sunday bazaars in front of Liaquat Bagh and Nawaz Sharif Park have already been bulldozed as part of the MBP while the two sasta bazaars in Committee Chowk and Hyderi Chowk are increasingly losing customers due to the ongoing work on the project, as people have to take a long route to reach these markets.
