Kamran Market, one of the oldest markets in Rawalpindi has started to lose its tenants because of disrepair, with merely 15 stalls operational out of a total 85 in this indoor market in Saddar. The market was built in 1890 near Babu Mohallah, decades after the colonial occupation of Punjab, by the British rulers who wanted a ‘neat’ marketplace compared to ‘messy and untidy’ bazaars in the garrison city.

Established on the pattern of Leadenhall Market, Kamran Market provided an opportunity for the people, particularly the British, to buy fresh produce under one roof. After the partition, the market remained a shopping hotspot but eventually, it fell victim to the vagaries of time.

The wooden structure of the building consists of iron posts and a gable roof fabricated with wooden trusses. Internally, brick walls are used to support the trusses. These walls are punctuated by a multitude of pointed arch openings to feel of unlimited space around which displays in the form of stalls are arranged.

But, the structure now stands in a derelict state due to the negligence of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, in need of renovations and especially a new coat of paint.

Residents told Dawn that the market used to be very popular and every Sunday was no less than a festival. But now it does not even have sellers. In the last decade, most of the grocers and retailers moved to other places, leaving the mutton, beef and chicken sellers behind to ply their trade.

The residents of Cantonment are unhappy with the RCB for ignoring this relic of the past. They said that the civic body had inherited a valuable thing but it did not spend even a dime on its renovations and upkeep.

Mohammad Akram, a shopper, said that he was a regular visitor to the market, as it was the only market in the city that offered a lot of space for parking vehicles. Nadia Rehman, a visitor who was at the market to buy some shawls, said that this was the only market where she could simultaneously shop for clothes and groceries.

Nabeel Mir, the Kamran Market Traders Association president, said that the covered market was expanded in 1958 and two more blocks were added to it. “The old building is for meat and vegetables and other food items and the new two blocks cater to the cloth shops, tailors among other things,” he said. He said the RCB should renovate the old structure to attract visitors as well as tourists in Saddar just like the Bank Road in Saddar. He said that shopkeepers in the Kamran Market had always paid for renovations if any from their pocket.

Muhammad Shah, a stallholder, said that he had been working there for the last 50 years but the authorities were not paying any heed to improve the condition of this market. He said there was a water and sanitation problem in the market and the stallholders had arranged on their own to dispose of waste. RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Syed Ali Irfan Rizvi was not available to comment despite repeated attempts.

According to a senior RCB official, the cantonment board made a plan in 2014 to renovate the building but there was a shortage of funds. He said that the RCB would soon paint the walls of the market.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2024