PESHAWAR - The Ramzan sasta bazaar in Peshawar, set up by the district government on Saturday presented a deserted look as most of the stalls in the bazaar were empty and especially
without food items.The district government has established a sasta bazaar in interior city nearby historic
Chowk Yadgar, with a capacity of more than 25 stalls mainly for food items, but there were only two stalls open including beverages and fruits, being set-up at the bazaar.As five days have passed, the efforts to attract customers to the sasta bazaar have flopped as the market wore a deserted look on Saturday. The stall owners were directed to sell items at prices fixed by the administration.
Since the beginning of the holy month of Ramazan, sasta bazaar did not attract many buyers, primarily due to poor and substandard quality of items being sold at the stalls.Talking to The Nation, the buyers said that most of the daily-use items were missing at the stalls in sasta bazaar, while there is no difference in the prices at sasta bazaar and in open market. “People would have thronged the sasta bazaar if the prices were reasonable. There is only one beverage stall. There is no stall of dates, vegetables, and chicken besides sugar and juices were not available in the bazaar. There are a number of stalls set up in the bazaar but only two are open,” they complained.“Even though people visit the bazaar regularly,
but they return disappointed as it has little variety of food items to offer,” said Saadat Khan, a local who lives adjacent to the bazaar. “There is nothing worth buying here,” he said.Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had announced to set up more than 107 sasta bazaars across the province, wherein, commodities of daily use and edible items will be available to consumers at lower rates. Fifteen such sasta bazaars have been established in Peshawar, 13 in district Mardan, 27 in Malakand, 24 in Hazara, 11 in Kohat, 9 in Bannu and 8 in DI Khan. Despite provision of food items at subsidised rates, the commodities were being sold at 10 to 15 per cent increased rates at the Ramazan sasta bazaars.On the other hand, the district administration
said that the owners of the stalls were provided with free power supply and other facilities but they did not turn up in the bazaar. They will be dealt sternly, an official of the district adminstration said.