KARACHI, Sept 1: As many as 129 shopkeepers of Boulton Market, displaced 29 years ago, have urged the city government to help resolve the lingering issue.

Observers may recall that in 1976, the defunct Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) had signed an agreement with a private concern to replace the old market with a new one.

At that time, these shopkeepers had been asked to operate in makeshift structures on the footpath outside the old market building till the completion of the new structure.

It was agreed that the builder after demolishing the old structure would construct a 10-storeyed building in two years and the old KMC tenants would be accommodated.

Besides, under the agreement, the KMC was bound to hand over the possession of the new building to the contracting firm with a grant of 10 year lease.

Consequently, in 1978, the old tenants of the KMC were shifted to temporarily built shops on the assurance that they would be re-shifted to the shops and stalls of the new super market without any compensation. However, the affected tenants are still awaiting the issue to get resolved.

A spokesman for the Boulton Market Stall Holders’ Association blamed bureaucracy for the sufferings of the old tenants left with no choice but to continue their business in unhygienic conditions.

However, in 1983 the then municipal commissioner of the defunct KMC had held a meeting with a delegation of the constructing firm but it failed to yield results.

In 1995, the then KMC administrator took the matter to a higher court where it was claimed that the constructing firm had violated the agreement by not completing the project within the stipulated time and failed to accommodate the 129 shopkeepers — the old tenants — forcing them to continue their business in temporary shelters on the footpath.

The firm was accused of minting millions by handing over allotments to new parties. The association representative deplored that for reasons best known to the authorities concerned, no interest was shown in the legal proceedings.

In 1998, shops of plastic goods were gutted in a blaze due to a short circuit, extensively damaging the structure of the market.

Fearing that the KMC would declare the building as an unsafe structure, the new shopkeepers started repair works during which they had illegally constructed shops and a mosque at vacant places.

In the meantime, the plastic shopkeepers also formed a union and illegally constructed an office on the premises of the building.

The Boulton Market Stall Holders’ Association urged the city government to take measures to accommodate the affected tenants in the basement and the ground floor of the building that would also help improve the traffic situation in the area.