Despite Ramazan, no ‘barkat’for street vendors in Hyderi Market

Karachi
Offering something for every kind of shopper, from outlets of upscale Pakistani brands to its very own silk market and the myriad varieties of made-in-China finished items and its own being sold by countless vendors outside the actual market, Hyderi in the past few decades has emerged as the shopping hub preferred by the middle class population of the city.
However, what is now one of Karachi's major shopping hubs, was initially a residential area - by the name of Barkat-e-Hyderi - which was founded by the spiritual leader of the Bohra community, Syedna Tahir Saifuddin, in the 1950s.
“Any commercial activity in the area at the time was limited to a few street vendors selling toys, combs, China silk, miswaak and other everyday items,” according to the press secretary of the All Hyderi Market Association, Javaid Qaim Ali. “As population in the surrounding area grew, the market grew with it. Now there are at least 2,500 shops here and countless small vendors and the market keeps expanding.”
This is how Barkat-e-Hyderi became the famous Hyderi market, said Ali, who is also a social worker and one of the top managing officials of the Burhani Blood Bank. “The shops are located in the heart of the market while shiny malls have opened up at its fringes,” he said.

Vendors’ concerns
However, though it was the vendors who laid the foundation of the market as Barkat-e-Hyderi, they now complain of being treated as second-class citizens by the authorities.
One of them, Khawaja Ammar Ali is a graduate in business administration and has been running a food stall at Hyderi market for the past seven years. “I began doing business here when I was 12 years old, after my father was taken ill,” he told The News. “I was just a little school boy then, I had no idea how to earn for my family. I began slowly, selling papad and toffees, before gradually moving on to making shawarmas," he said.
"Fortunately, I have done well enough to help my parents arrange for my sister’s wedding and put my brother, Khawaja Usman, through college," said Ammar, gesturing towards the fresh-faced young man attending a popcorn stall right next to Ammar's workstation.
"He is studying to become an engineer at Delhi College and has also joined me in business here. His popcorn stall is a major hit with the children."
Ammar expressed a great deal of resentment towards the district and metropolitan authorities, whom he said, returned like bad pennies at the advent of every Ramazan to extort money on the pretext of removing encroachment.
“They come and destroy or confiscate our stalls and equipment,” he said, “Later, they demand exorbitant amounts to return what is rightfully ours.”
"What if we don’t have hundreds of thousands to invest in our businesses? We too are here to earn an honest living."
The fear of ‘anti-encroachment’ staff of metropolitan agencies is so inherent in the vendors that one of them, a middle-aged man called Rashid running a stall of men’s belts, began running when The News tried to approach him for an interview.
“Bhai men ghareeb aadmi hun mera khayal karna (Brother I am a poor man please spare me),” he exclaimed while running in the opposite direction before he could be stopped and calmed down.
“I thought you were a government official, here to confiscate my stuff and kick me off the market!” he said when he learnt otherwise.
He narrated that all his merchandise had been confiscated twice by anti-encroachment authorities in the past couple of years, incurring huge losses for his meagre income.
Usman Ghani, who has a stall of clips and hair ties, was happy that business was booming as people completed their Eid shopping but he said raids by anti-encroachment authorities were rude interruptions in his livelihood.

Helpless union
The Hyderi market comprises about 27 smaller markets with around 2,500 shops, said the president of All Hyderi Market Association Syed Mohammad Saeed.
Himself a businessman, he said the union appealed to the authorities to carry out their anti-encroachment raids before Ramazan. “But they come in the middle of the season when shopping is at its peak,” he lamented. “Not only does it affect business activity but it is highly damaging for the small shopkeepers who invest all their savings to be able to earn.”
Metropolitan authorities, Saeed added, really need to be more considerate in their operations. "We can't deny the legality of their actions, but they should reconsider their decision to act in what is the most profitable month for traders."
“Sometimes, the owners of big shops complain that customers face difficulty navigating the landmine of vendors outside to reach their shops inside the main market,” Saeed admitted. “It is my job as the president of the market to address the concerns of shopkeepers who have invested millions in their businesses.”