KARACHI, May 6: Bachat Bazaars, Stalls and Hawkers Association has served a legal notice to the city government against its decision to ban the holding of bachat bazaars on the days other than Sunday.
The decision had been taken recently by a meeting of the CDGK's consultation committee. More than 130 bachat bazaars are organized in different parts of the city and only 17 of them are held on Sundays.
Thousands of people have been earning their livelihood from these bazaars and the ban is feared to render them jobless. According to the contents of the legal notice, the ban had created a very serious and alarming situation for an estimated 50,000 stall-holders and other people whose survival and livelihood directly depended on these bazaars.
In addition, millions of consumers directly benefiting from these bazaars would suffer, it added. "The authority has completely ignored massive unemployment, inflation and disaffection which would immediately follow the implementation of this decision," it observed.
It pointed out that decision to shut down the bachat bazaars was illegal and without any lawful authority or jurisdiction vested in the CDGK under the SLGO 2001.
Referring to a decision of the Sindh High Court, it stated: "It has been held by the Sindh High Court in the case of the Welfare Association of Field Organizers of Weekly Bazaars Karachi v/s Karachi Development Authority some time back that there appears to be no requirement of law stipulating that a person can organize such bachat bazaars/sell commodities after obtaining any permission/NOC from any person or authority."
In the light of this judgment, it added, the decision of the CDGK to shut down all bazaars on days other than Sunday was not only beyond the scope of authority of jurisdiction of the CDGK, but also a clear violation of the judgment.
CDGK officials, defending the ban, maintained that the decision had been taken after receiving reports that these bazaars were hindering a smooth flow of traffic, marketing substandard products, overcharging, etc.
President of the Weekly Bachat Bazaars Association Mr Riffat, when contacted, criticized the CDGK decision, and termed it 'an unjust and unfair'. He said that thousands of people were associated with these bazaars to earn livelihood.
He was of the view that instead of prohibiting holding of the bazaars, CDGK should have come out with some policy guidelines for these bazaars. One of the organizers of bachat bazaars told PPI on condition of anonymity that the CDGK decision had been taken under the pressure of town nazims who had earlier been handling the affairs of such bazaars. -PPI
