BY SALMAN ASHRAF
Weekly Lunda Bazaar in sector H-9 is blessing not only for the poor segment of society, but people from middle class also shop here due to rising inflation. People are seen shopping for winter stuff at the bazaar these days.
The weekly bazaar is functional three days a week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). On one side of the bazaar is Kashmir Highway while from the eastern side, a double road and metro station provide access to the market. This weekly bazaar was established in 1980 to provide edibles to the residents of the federal capital at concessional rates.
However, after 2006 it was properly reconstructed by CDA on 25 acres of land dividing it into different sections according to the types of items.
H-9 weekly bazaar attracts customers from different sections of the society, looking for cheap apparel and other household items for all seasons at cheaper rates from markets.
This market deals in all kinds of secondhand clothing accessories like sweaters, jackets, shirts, pants, trousers, bags, toys, curtains, bed sheets among other items. Furthermore, the section of meat, poultry, fish and clay items is separated from the other stalls to keep the customer away from waste and unpleasant odor.
The buyers, including shopkeepers and dealers from small towns of the twin cities, come to this market for shopping. Household furnishings like curtains, tablecloths, aprons, working overalls, tea-cozies, table napkins, wall carpets, floor mats and even floor carpets can also be purchased from here.
“The consignments of old clothes and other items, especially in Pakistan, come mainly from the US, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. They come in kilograms or in containers of 20 tonnes and are brought to Karachi first where custom duty is levied on them. They are then brought to other cities of Pakistan and sold to people at reasonable price,” Qadeer who runs a stall here, told Pakistan Today.
“All the clothes are not secondhand, even some branded national companies sell their defected stuff to wholesale lunda dealers,” said Wasif ullah, who has been running a stall at the bazaar for last seven years.
Liaqat Hayat, a customer, told Pakistan Today that he waits for this bazaar to open so he can buy things from here and save money because there is huge difference between rates of Lunda bazaar and the market.
He said his monthly income is Rs. 60,000 but despite this, his family lives hand to mouth due to rising inflation. We come here because we get concession on every item available in this bazaar as compared to the other markets and this is a big relief for us, he said.
Salma, a working woman who shops at the bazaar, says a jacket costs Rs 3000-4000 if they go to other markets but at this bazaar they can find one for Rs 1000-1500. This weekly market is a great blessing for us, she told Pakistan Today.
