KARACHI, May 8: The number of visitors to the second-hand book bazaar held on the lawns of the 19th century Frere Hall has dropped to such an extent that most booksellers are considering stopping putting up there stalls. Book lovers using public transport and two-wheelers are turned away from the Sunday book bazaar by law-enforcement agencies which have tightened up security on the roads leading to the Frere Hall.
Booksellers told Dawn that the number of visitors had dropped to such an extent that they were finding it difficult to break even.
“We are fast losing heart. The government cannot seem to make up its mind whether it wants the book bazaar to continue or not. Book lovers using public transport and motorcycles are not allowed to come here. They are the ones who are interested in second-hand books because new arrivals are mostly prohibitively expensive,” said Mohammad Haroon, who is one of the senior-most booksellers at the Sunday bazaar.
Policemen posted on Fatima Jinnah Road and Abdullah Haroon Road said they were under orders not to allow public transport and motorcycles to pass by the US consulate and the residence of the US consul-general.
Booksellers told Dawn that at times even they were not allowed to come to the Frere Hall with their wares. “The policemen posted on Fatima Jinnah Road expect us to carry the books to the Frere Hall. Sometimes they do not let us take the books to the lawns in a car on a motorcycle. This kind of behaviour puts us off and makes us wonder why we take so much humiliation when we don’t make a lot of profit here,” they said.
An elderly visitor to the bazaar said the police did not allow him to take his car to the bazaar. “People of my age group find it hard to walk to the bazaar, but the police seem to have no consideration for the old,” he said.
A bookseller said he failed to understand how the book bazaar at the Frere Hall would continue when the government had set up an alternative place for booksellers in a Koocha-i-Saqafat on M.R. Kayani Road. He feared the Frere Hall book bazaar would die its natural death in time.