May 26, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429

ISLAMABAD, May 25: The local administration will shortly open two weekly bazaars in rural areas of the capital to facilitate growers in marketing their produce as well as consumers through availability of perishable food items at subsidised prices, Dawn learnt on Sunday.

It’s for the first time weekly markets are being established in Islamabad’s rural zones, as currently such bazaars are only available in developed sectors of G-6, G-11 and H-9.

“Weekly bazaars will be opened in Bhara Kahu and Rawat where majority of people live in villages,” Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ali said.

Initially these markets will be functioning every Wednesday and with the passage of time they can be held twice a week.

Presently, the growers in Islamabad can sell their products only in the Fruit and Vegetable Market at Sector I-11; however, with the opening of proposed bazaars it would become easier for them to sell fruits and vegetables in nearby areas.

People in some rural areas of the capital grow wheat, fruits and vegetables, but their yield does not meet the local requirement.

According to the master plan of Islamabad, the CDA has allotted about 500 agriculture farms and orchards in five different schemes at Tarlai Kalan, Sehana, Chak Shahzad and along Kahuta Road and Murree Road to meet local demand of meat, milk, grain, fruit and vegetables.

But unfortunately except for few of them all the farms are being used for residential purposes as their elite dwellers have built palatial villas there instead of growing fruits and vegetables.

The local administration has asked the CDA to get the city’s master plan implemented in letter and spirit, and take action against those who had changed the status of farm houses on their own.

It is believed that amid the prevailing food crisis in the country, at least the entire food requirement of the capital can be met if farm houses are used solely for agriculture purposes.

A couple of months back, the CDA decided to take action against the violators of farm housing concept but due to their “powerful” inhabitants, including President Pervez Musharraf and former prime ministers Shaukat Aziz and Mohammedmian Soomro, the civic body could not dare to revive the basic concept.

Other influential figures who own agriculture farm houses in Islamabad are: PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Senator Waseem Sajjad, former senator Dr Shahzad Waseem, PPP leaders like Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Raja Nadir Pervez, and some army generals and journalists.