LANDI KOTAL: The shopkeepers started repairing their shops in Bara Bazaar on Tuesday as Khyber Agency political administration invited tenders for the construction of the offices of municipal committee, rescue service and a one-kilometre facade along with the main gate of the bazaar in anticipation of its opening in the last week of December.

The bazaar was closed six years ago. The ground breaking ceremony of the modern buildings would be performed by the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Political Agent Shahab Ali Shah told Dawn.

He said the administration had hired consultants for devising a master plan for rebuilding the ruined bazaar on modern lines which would be the first of its type in Fata.

Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations chief in one of his tweets said that Bara area of Khyber Agency handed back to civil administration after (security) clearance for the return of traders and opening of Bara Bazaar.

Said Ayaz, an office-bearer of Bara Traders Association, told this scribe that he along with hundreds of other shopkeepers visited the bazaar and started cleaning and carrying out necessary repair of their shops on Tuesday. 

He said that in order to avoid rush of shopkeepers and to ensure their security, the repair work of the bazaar was divided into four phases with the ‘cleanup operation’ starting from the north west side of the market at a limited scale. 

“There are 11,500 shops in Bara market and it was not possible to rebuild and repair all the damaged shops simultaneously,” said Mr Ayaz. He added that the phase-wise repair strategy was devised in consultation with security forces and political administration.

The political agent said that the administration wanted to synchronise the revival of business activities in Bara Bazaar with the return of much awaited Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs) of Sipah tribe.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2015