March 18, 2007	Sunday	Safar 28, 1428

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LAHORE, March 17: The ongoing judicial crisis and series of protests by the legal fraternity and opposition parties since March 12 are causing a serious blow to trading activities on The Mall, making businessmen desperate.

Traders, shopkeepers and owners of food restaurants on Saturday expressed their anger over the closure of the road for several hours following the lawyers-police clashes on the Lahore High Court premises.

They regretted that their routine business had been adversely affecting and their customers were fast decreasing due to agitation calls by lawyers and opposition parties.

The traders had started closing their shops from the Chairing Cross to the Lahore museum at 11am to avert any damage to their assets by protesters.

Even some banks, situated on The Mall, were closed at 11am in the wake of clashes, eyewitnesses and customers told Dawn.

“I went to withdraw some cash from the Allied Bank Regal Chowk branch after 11am but security officials said the bank had been closed,” said trader Yaseen who had come from Model Town.

“We closed our businesses on our own mainly because of the absence of customers and to avert any damage to our assets,” another trader told this reporter.

They were of the view that it had become a routine matter by the government and law-enforcement agencies to block The Mall for traffic and the ultimate sufferers were the traders, customers and other people.

“Frequent protests and closure of the most busiest road of the city for several hours have resulted in the reduction of our customers and business volume,” said cloth trader Main Ahmer.

He said he could not deliver several orders to his clients between 11am and 4pm on Saturday, adding the present crisis-like situation had adversely affected trade activities here.

Sajid, an electronics dealer at Regal Chowk, said the protests and closure of The Mall had become a routine business at the cost of their daily earnings.

“I am doing business in a rented shop. Its closure even for a few hours restricts my earnings, disturbs my budget.”

Another electronics dealer, Yasir, said he had missed his two clients on Saturday when they returned from the Queens Road following the traffic mess.

He said customers had started preferring to other business hubs after being disappointed by the situation here.

Adeel, an employee of the Crooker’s restaurant situated opposite of the LHC, said they had closed business at 11am to prevent any damage. “We have been closing the restaurant since March 12 in different intervals,” he said.