ISLAMABAD: “My daily sale of corn is between 15 and 20 kilogrammes but today I brought 100 kgs and one fourth of it has already been sold by the afternoon,” said Rahim Khan.

He reached Zero Point in Islamabad pushing his cart loaded with corn baked in sand all the way from Choor Chowk in Rawalpindi, knowing well that in the presence of the huge crowds not only the sales but also the prices would be high.

Khan said he was earning Rs20 from each pack of the corn that he usually sold for Rs12 in Rawalpindi.

Food vendors are using the opportunity to sell their products to participants of marches

He is one of the small-time vendors who have found a new opportunity to sell eatables to the supporters of the PTI amid lacklustre business activities in the federal capital due to the road blockades and an air of tension.

“There is no work nowadays. I was expecting something good on August 14 but that too remained dull and next two days are the weekend holidays. So I have come here to sell these soft items,” said Amir Ali, a taxi driver, selling branded chips, fruit juices and toffees at almost double price.

But visibly the most favourite item for the Pashtoon visitors at Zero Point was the varieties of ‘chana chat’.

Most of them were, however, seen blushing and sneezing after eating the hot chat filled with chillies.

With nothing much to do, the first batch of ‘revolutionaries’ belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) mostly coming from KP were seen moving between Zero Point and Aapbara where the stage was being established for the leaders of the ‘Azadi’ march.

Like Zero Point, the food sellers at Aabpara market were excited and anxiously preparing for the arrival of more customers as the political activity began to heat up.

“We usually do not prepare tea at noon but today an additional quantity of milk has been purchased,” said Aqib Abbasi, overseeing the management of his restaurant at Aabpara. “Insha Allah, there will be a good sale of food at dinner too.”

However, he added that there was also a downside of the boom. “If there is any trouble, we will be the ones to be caught in the middle of the warring parties.”

Not only the visitors but also scores of drivers and helpers of hired vehicles had their lunch and breakfast at Aabpara.

Similarly, most of the burger sellers started the work in a bulk even before the sunset as they expected night-long sale on Friday as more people were expected to arrive in the city.

“I like the taste of things here but these pakora, samosa and jalebi are marvellous,” said Mohammad Zahir, from Mansehra, enjoying the snacks in the Aabpara market as rain continued outside.

A majority of the visitors spent the night between Thursday and Friday on the lush green grounds adjoining the Kashmir Highway and the forest area.

However, the heavy downpour changed the scenario and many of the visitors decided to be guests with their friends and relatives while those who could afford sought spaces in hotels.

“But finding rooms in hotels is next to impossible. We have three hotels with a capacity of 70 rooms but none is available,” said Faisal Abbasi, the manager of a hotel at Aabpara. “Interestingly, 20 of these rooms have been booked by a media house.”

Anticipating emergencies and to ensure round-the-clock coverage, the management of all the electronic media have booked rooms for their staff in guesthouses and hotels.

There are an estimated 3,000 hotel rooms available in Islamabad but the demand has increased due to the arrival of the PTI workers. An estimated 300 rooms have been booked by the media houses.

Besides, the hotels and guesthouses have increased the room rates by Rs500 to Rs1500 per night. As a result, the rent of a non-AC room now ranges between Rs2,000 and Rs2,500 whereas the AC rooms are available for Rs4,000 to Rs5,000.

“The rates have gone up due to greed or whatever you may call it, but one reason is that there is more wear and tear in these cases as

up to four guests adjust themselves in one room.” Added Mr Abbasi said.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2014