May 07, 2007	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 19, 1428

LAHORE, May 6: The solid waste management wing staff of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) and police officials were ‘absent’ from the four Sunday Bazaars set up by the administrations of Data Gunj Bakhsh and Samanabad towns.

The number of customers was also thin till noon at the Gulshan-i-Ravi, Allama Iqbal Town’s Moon Market, Wahdat Colony and Shadman makeshift markets.

A CDGL source told this reporter that the SWM staff and policemen were on rest till Sunday evening.

“They performed ‘extra duty’ on Saturday by participating in the official rally taken out by the Punjab government in favour of the presidential reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. They will not get any extra payment for the additional duty. They are human beings and need rest. Rest assured, the vicinity of these makeshift markets will be clear of all kind of garbage by Monday morning.”

At least two policemen are deputed at entry points of the four makeshift markets every Sunday, primarily to stop motorcyclists from entering the bazaars, while the SWM staff remains busy in collecting leftovers.

Officials of the Data Gunj Bakhsh and Samanabad towns said people start coming to the makeshift markets late on the first Sunday every month. “People belonging to the salaried class mostly start coming early to the Sunday Bazaar in the middle of every month when they have left with half the salary,” an official said.

Traders at the Gulshan-i-Ravi, Allama Iqbal Town’s Moon Market, Wahdat Colony and Shadman makeshift markets belie the assertion of the local bodies’ officials.

“During summer, people try to come to the Sunday Bazaars as early as possible because it is difficult for them to shop in the scorching heat,” a trader said, but could not give any reason for the low turnout of customers till noon.

However, a survey of these makeshift markets revealed that most items were better neither in quality nor prices as compared to nearby markets or retail shops.