Juma Bazar: Poor's paradise Syed Ahmed Raza

Juma Bazar: Poor's paradise

 Syed Ahmed Raza

Un-edited

Spiraling inflation of Pakistan has made it difficult for a common person to survive in this country. For an average middle class man, it is no longer financially feasible to keep up with pace of the rapidly growing prices of household goods. Thus, they are often compelled to shop at different bachat bazars.

For the convenience of lower and middle class people of Hyderabad, a juma bazar is been hosted at Khuda Hafiz board of Latifabad for last thirty years. Initially, it was a personal effort of few local scrap dealers, who on their wheel carts, kept electronic and other reconditioned items for sale. Clicked the idea.. And now, this bazar is a main source of livelihood for more than three hundred houses. Another interesting fact is that the whole bazar consists of wheel carts only. It is a kind of social mobile market, which is staged with the sunrise of every Friday and ends with sunset.

 Stretching from Khuda Hafiz Board to Raja Ki Kothi, this bazar lengthens over a half kilo meter area. A large variety of things including electronic and electrical items, pots and crockery, bad sheets and carpets, Jeans, T-shirts and shoes, wooden domestic and office furniture, tools and spare parts, bicycles and wheel chairs, stoves and ovens, wall clocks and wall paintings, wrist watches and many other reconditioned stuff is sold at reasonable prices.

 Apart from this, many Limca, Limu Pani and Gola-Ganda sellers are also an important part of this bazar who keeps the bazar alive with their interesting chants. Lower prices and fair quality, pulls in the crowd that even scorching beams of hot sunny day do not affect the continual bustle of this bazar. Throughout the day, people remain busy in getting a bargain and eventually return home with a gratifying smile on their faces.

Due to increasing complaints of traffic jam in 2006-07, this bazar was shifted to Kanch mil (glass factory), which not only became a cause of great suffer for these vendors, but also brought a deprivation for lower class buyers. As a result of continuous efforts of vendor's committee and with the permission of municipal officials, it returned to its original venue.

The revamped juma bazar welcomes people when many markets of the city have their shutters down. From a needle to used iron-made articles, you can get all that you need and a lot more in this market. Buyers can get their required articles from this bazar on low prices, generally of average quality. Beware! One who is new to the bazar has to observe the nature of the market first; a good quality product may only be picked by closer inspection. 

2013

Feature- Syed Ahmed Raza - Roll # MC-2k11/09, BS -III 
Practical work done under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi