ANOTHER Rs2,700 increase in the rent of the Johar Town Model Bazaar soon after the double increase last year has stunned all stallholders of the bazaar. It is against what has been written in official policies that are said to be promoting the welfare of small-scale entrepreneurs.

I wonder how one can pay Rs10,000 rent to the management when the total investment in the enterprise is Rs15,000? The bazaar management is just accumu-lating money and passing the entire burden on to the shopkeepers.

When I had earlier contributed to this segment (‘Model Bazaar’; Sept 22) regarding the twin increase in rent, the management concerned, instead of taking remedial measures, sent a group of ‘handlers’ who surrounded me in a harassing gesture, asking me why I had done that.

It is not basically the issue of rent. It is about net earnings. Middle-class investors are earning in millions by running grocery shops, and yet they pay rent equal to what is being paid by those like me. This is ruining the business of all low-scale investors and playing havoc with their lives by depriving them of their livelihood because not paying such massive rent will lead to shop cancellation.

Besides, we had no relief or relaxation in paying the rent during the recent Covid epidemic, which had also affected our business adversely. The relevant authority needs to focus on a lot of other, more critical aspects than merely increasing shop rents. For instance, the bazaar certainly needs to have a proper check on the vegetable and fruit stalls and other substandard grocery being sold there.

The bazaar hardly has customers on weekdays, and business mostly takes place on Sundays due to the adjacent Sunday bazaar which brings people to the area in numbers. And it is on Sundays that the bazaar needs better security arrange-ments, especially on the back side where the car-parking lot is situated. The security guards there are often in a lethargic mood owing to lax supervision. The relevant authorities should look into the issue, asking the model bazaar’s management to facilitate the vendors instead of harassing them in various ways.

Hussain Khan
Lahore

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2022