KARACHI, Aug 27: The Clifton Underpass may prove to be beneficial in the long run for the city, but the project is proving to be a nightmare for traders and shop owners of the area. A survey of the area revealed that commercial activity has shrunk and in some cases business has hit rock bottom by 50-80 per cent.

Slow pace of work, many people in the market think, is the main reason for the miseries for those who have set up their business two years back or later, while big shop and departmental store owners, who are well established, may also be feeling the pinch as their daily turnover has also been affected with decline in the number of customers but probably they could sustain losses for some time.

The government had initiated a number of projects in the city like road repairing and carpeting, infrastructure improvement, park development, flyovers; overhead bridges, etc., but delays in completion of the projects owing to departmental bottlenecks or extremely slow speed of work has added to the worries of common man, businessmen and traders, who have to deal with traffic jams in almost all the areas.

Some market people say that if the buyer is a regular customer of shopping areas around the Clifton Under Pass, he will come to the area one way or the other.

Many market people, whose business is believed to have been affected by over 80 per cent, looked depressed but were reluctant to quantify their loss since the construction of Under Pass has commenced. They do not want their names to be quoted or put on record because of the involvement of Army and other agencies in the construction of the project as they may find themselves in trouble after project completion.

Some people, whose business has affected by over 60 per cent, tried to defend themselves by saying that it happens whenever this kind of situation emerges. People have been accustomed to such circumstances and they know how to live a life in a cosmopolitan city where waste of time, caused by nerve wrecking traffic jams coupled with environmental and noise pollution, has become an integral part of their daily life.

A retailer said that some of his regular customers have started switching over to other areas like Saddar, Tariq Road, Zamzama, Zaibunisa Street, etc., as they could not wait if they have to arrange something for certain occasion.

“Our sales have cut to half since underpass construction work has got underway,” an official at Paradise Store at Clifton, who asked not to be named, said.

“To be very frank,” he said “there is nothing wrong with the project but the construction pace is much slower.”

A month back, office bearers of All Clifton Defence Market Welfare Association dared to lodge their protest “not against the construction of the Clifton underpass but against the ill-planned and ill-conceived management of the project.

In case a fire erupts in the market or, God forbids, some terrorist activities or untoward incidents happen, there is no clear way for ambulance, fire brigades, police mobile, etc., to reach any of the markets and commercial areas located around the underpass.

Chairman of the association, Akbar Ali Rana said that the business has suffered to the extent of 75-80pc and traders now do not find themselves working in safe environment which is also marred by pollution, traffic jams and heavy vehicles.

He claimed that 10 per cent of the people, who have set up offices, businesses and other activities in the surrounding apartments and buildings of Underpass area, have quit the places as they could not manage Rs20,000-25,000 monthly rent without conducting their business to the capacity. He said the project was unlikely to complete in June 2006, the deadline for the project.

In the absence of any diversions and alternative routes, traders and consumers have been left with no option but to use side roads and backyard of flats and residential areas of Clifton.

He said that a lot of push cart owners have captured service roads of Clifton Block eight and nine by setting up Thela Service. He held the Cantonment Board Staff responsible for encouraging push cart owners to set up their business. The Encroachment officer of the Cantonment Board had already said that he could not do any thing, Rana said.

The chairman, Alliance of Market Association (AMA), Atiq Mir said since the project is moving at snail pace it will miss the deadline of June 2006.

He said that the government should have intimated such mega project to the traders, which is creating huge problems for the consumers as well as shop owners.

On an average, it can be said that the business from Teen Talwar (three swords) to Schon Circle has been affected by 50 per cent.

Press Secretary of Kehkashan Shopping Arcade, Mohammad Shahnawaz said that the business of the shopping area and even its adjacent areas has plunged by 75 per cent.

He said many people have closed their business while some have shifted to Gulf, Zamzama, Continental Trade Centre, Ashiana etc.

General Secretary, Boat Basin Shopkeepers Welfare Group, Naeem Sajjad said that the business of more than 100 shops had plunged by 50 per cent from normal days since the start of construction of Underpass while the business had also been affected due to closure of service roads.

“We had not protested yet but the government should have taken into confidence the business community before starting digging on a massive scale,” he said adding that so far no shop owner had shifted to any other places from Boat Basin.