LAHORE: The divisional administration on Sunday made 42 Ramazan bazaars operational in Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib districts ahead of the holy month starting in the next few days.

The bazaars included 30 in Lahore alone that will also have 200 mobile vegetable/fruit shops from where people could purchase the commodities on wholesale rates. Each tehsil of Lahore (City, Raiwind, Shalimar, Model Town and Cantt) has been allotted 40 mobile shops, Dawn has learnt.

“All 30 Ramazan bazaars in Lahore have been made operational where people have started procurement at cheaper rates. Mobile shops, too, have started moving in all tehsils from where people have started purchasing vegetables and fruits on wholesale rates,” Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Shahid Kathia told Dawn on Sunday.

“These mobile shops are operated by motorcycle-rickshaws that were already being used by the fruit/vegetable vendors. But we have done some branding work and provided them with the products on auctioned rates of market and allowed them to sell the same on notified wholesale rates in the open markets,” Mr Kathia explained.

According to notifications, the 30 bazaars in Lahore included four in Gulberg zone, six in Nishtar, three each in Ravi, Samanabad, Aziz Bhatti and Data Ganj Bakhsh zones, seven in Iqbal and two in Wagha zone, whereas 12 bazaars have been set up tehsil-wise in the districts of Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2021