The G-9 Bazaar has been shifted to a new location, near the H-9 on Sunday (today}. The Bazaar being held thrice a week regularly on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday now has 2650 stalls, with mezzanine floor and green iron grills, separating one stall from another.
The director in-charge of the Bazar, Mustafain Kazmi informed Business Recorder that the construction cost of the new facility is Rs 210 million. However, there will be no formal inauguration on Friday. 'We will experiment the change on Friday and hope it turns into a full Bazaar on Tuesday,' he said.
The new H-9 or the old G-9 Bazaar has 420 stalls for grocery, 328 for general items, 298 for vegetables and 21 for fruits. It is divided into five sections, with six opening doors that give access to the its stalls. The largest section has been reserved for hosiery. Interestingly, the section of Lunda or used garment though incomplete, has 133 stalls.
Stall-holders were seen jostling and picketing to get their stall number on Saturday. Commenting about the new place Daulat Khan and Gul Afzal informed Business Recorder that "the ceiling was too low, only eight feet high and we will not be able to bring in large size carpets or rugs'.
Watching hundreds of people working to pull down tin sheets and iron structures, a house wife commented that the well-established old market was pulled down in a jiffy', added that the new location will be far from her home and she would have to walk long for purchasing.
However, some of the customers expressed happiness over the change of the location, as they don't have to struggle through busy traffic and anticipated a quick opening of the new G-9 Avenue at its new site soon.