KARACHI, Jan 25: Hard-pressed by growing inflation and shrinking purchasing power, a sizable number of people still turns to the weekly Bachat Bazaars in different parts of the city.
At present, as many as 36 such bazaars are being organised on different week days to help people buy essential commodities and items of daily use at discounted prices and manage their domestic budgets.
There is a general impression that people belonging to only middle and lower-middle class tend to shop at these weekly bazaars, but a visit to the Sunday Bazaar, held in the posh locality of DHA Phase VIII, appears to be an eye-opener for many.
“Begum Sahiba has given us her cell number and whenever we bring a good quality of designer goods, we give her a call in the morning because we often run out of stock by the evening, ” says Gul Khan, a stall-holder at this bazaar, adding that Begum Sahiba, along with some other relatives, would run here and pick the items of their choice.
Actors and actresses are also regular visitors of this bazaar, especially our stall, Khan remarked.
In addition to essential commodities, the weekly bazaars offer a wide range of various other household items which include ladies purse, imitation jewellery, jackets, suiting, and even electronic items. The big crowds such weekly bazaars attract reflect the difference between the prices at these stalls and those charged at shops in markets.
“After buying onion at Rs26 per kg from a vegetable shop in our area, I was surprised to see that the same quality onion was selling at Rs20 per kg at the Wednesday Bazaar held at a place off Rashid Minhas Road,” Jehan Ara Khatoon, a resident of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, told Dawn. She complained of the absence of a mechanism to check the price spiral and to regulate prices in the retail market. “Every one is busy minting money,” she remarked.
However, in what is described as a move towards discouraging the mushroom growth of weekly bazaars, the city government has recently launched a campaign against unauthorised ones. The officials concerned have already dismantled 46 such bazaars set up in playgrounds or roads without the mandatory permission having been issued by the city government.
Before the implementation of the devolution plan, weekly bazaars had been under the purview of the Bureau of Supplies and Prices, said District Officer (Bachat Bazaars) Rashid Ikram, who pointed out that in addition to the 36 weekly bazaars being held under the CDGK, many such bazaars were being set up in the limits of the cantonment boards and Railways. However, city government ensures price control in the bazaars being run under its control, Mr Ikram said.
Primarily, we ensure a minimum of Rs2 off on all commodities, the DO added.
