ISLAMABAD: The government on Saturday ordered closure of all the three Sunday bazaars in the federal capital from Sunday (today).

Taking advantage of the situation, retailers in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad increased the prices of essential kitchen items.

The Ministry of Interior had issued directives on March 19, restricting all activities that involved gatherings, including the weekly bazaars.

However, due to pressure from the consumers and the stallholders the capital administration relaxed the directives for a day and allowed holding of Friday bazaar at Peshawar Mor.

Three Sunday bazaars in Islamabad and several others in Rawalpindi managed by the respective civic bodies will not be functioning and there are indications from the authorities concerned that the Tuesday bazaar in Islamabad would also be closed.

However, stallholders have expressed concerns over the decision.

“The weekly bazaars are my lifeline,” said a woman stallholder at Peshawar Mor weekly bazaar.

“Not only I earn from this bazaar but also buy vegetables and fruits from here at cheaper rates,” she added.

Similarly, fruits and vegetable sellers also depend on these bazaars for their livelihood.

“We buy items from the the Islamabad vegetable and fruit market one day before the weekly bazaar and the next day we clear the previous day’s dues and buy for the next day,” said Noshad, a fruit seller in the same bazaar.

On Friday, the authorities, including the capital administration, CDA and the health department, were undecided about closing of the weekly bazaars.

A senior official of the local administration had told Dawn on Thursday they planned to close stalls of non-essential items such as carpets, furniture, used clothes but might allow sale of fruits and vegetables.

Finally, the decision was made on Saturday morning to close the weekly bazaars, and the retailers quickly increased prices of vegetables and fruits.

The average retail price of tomatoes was Rs50 per kg on Friday but it increased to Rs60 per kg on Saturday evening. A similar impact of the news about the closure of the weekly bazaars was visible at almost all other items of green groceries.

Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat told Dawn that under the circumstances they had no choice but to close the bazaars.

“The best option for the residents is to opt for online buying through DurustDaam app,” Mr Shafqaat said, adding the online buying app offered essential items well below the retail price and buyers would even save their fuel by receiving the order at their doorsteps or any designated place.

The official per kg rates of tomatoes at the DurustDaam was Rs36, garlic Rs300, ginger Rs355, etc.

The residents of Islamabad can download the DurustDaam app at their mobile phones and the consumers can place orders for their purchases.

Currently, the payment mode is only cash at delivery and the buyers have the choice to reject the supply on the basis of quality at the delivery time.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2020