Lahore: Decision to close Food Street politically motivated, claim shop owners

[Naveed Yaseen]

Decision to close Food Street politically motivated, claim shop owners

* Shopkeeper alleges PML-N workers demand extortion money

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: Shop owners in the Gawalmandi Food Street have termed the government’s claim to roll back the project for the ease of residents a politically motivated decision aimed at pleasing the workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The restaurant owners told Daily Times that a large number of shopkeepers belonged to the same locality and many of them even resided in the same street above their business outlets. They said they did not expect that the PML-N workers would oppose the Food Street, which had become the city’s identity across the globe. One of the members of the Food Street community Haji Basheer (75) told Daily Times that he lived in the locality and had spent his whole life selling siri pai, bong, maghaz and other desi dishes in the street. “I managed to marry one of my daughters through earnings from my shop after the Food Street was established. I have got five more daughters and hoped to marry them through the same business, but politics has taken its toll and I am facing the worst financial crisis since the closure of the street,” Basheer said.

Extortion money: He said extortionists and criminals had been living in Gawalmandi, alleging that some of them, who belonged to the PML-N, demanded extortion money from the shopkeepers.

“They were jealous of our earnings right from the beginning and finally got a way to blackmail and destroy us once the PML-N came into power. We are the residents of this area and we never demanded closure of the Food Street. It is just the political enmity of two groups and all of us have to face the consequences,” the shopkeeper said.

A widow of the family that owns the Lahore Tikka Shop told Daily Times that her father-in-law, her husband and other relatives had been running the business before Partition and were famous for the food quality across the Walled City.

She said her family also lived in the locality and no one from the neighbourhood had demanded closure of the street. She said the residents did not face any hindrance in reaching their houses, saying that they were always given passage through any of the two gates, besides having other alternatives.

She said closure of the Food Street had not only ruined the businesses, but also taken away the identity from the people of Gawalmandi. “Only those who were jealous or wanted their share in the business would do so. The residents had no problem with the street, rather they enjoyed the colours and festivity as well as presence of a large number of celebrities in the street,” the widow said. Malik Shahbaz, who sells cigarettes, pan and cold drinks in the street, said he had seen celebrities like Deena Jinnah, King Abdullah of Jordan, US Ambassador Anne Patterson, and many cricketers, including Saurav Ganguly who used to wander in the street every night, ignoring his security code during his stay in Lahore.

“What else can be a better tourist spot in Lahore? I am pretty sure that the street even surpassed the historic Mughal monuments in terms of popularity,” he said. He said most of the shopkeepers were residents of Gawalmandi like himself and they had an equal right to business security, adding that the closure was an open infringement on their rights. “You go and wander across the city and find a huge number of gated streets, localities and business centres, where residents have even restricted entrance to other citizens. The government ignores those violations and is ruining the business of the Food Street shopkeepers who never restricted anyone’s entrance and served the visitors,” Shahbaz said.

I managed to marry one of my daughters through earnings from my shop after the Food Street was established. I have got five more daughters and hoped to marry them through the same business

Haji Basheer, restaurant owner

"What else can be a better tourist spot in Lahore? I think the Food Street even surpassed the historic Mughal monuments in terms of popularity"

Malik Shahbaz, owner of a paan and cigarette kiosk

"The residents did not have any problem with the Food Street. Rather, they enjoyed the colours and festivity and the presence of a large number of celebrities in the street"

Widow of a Food Street tikka vendor

‘Nobody listening to our side of the story’

Food Street General Secretary Malik Qasim told Daily Times that no government official listened to their side of the story, adding that the move for closure was a political revenge from the pioneers of the idea who belonged to the previously ruling PML-Quaid. He said thousands of workers and shop owners would soon hold a press conference against the injustice and they would come on the streets if the government continued ignoring their demand.

‘Armed men put up the banners’

Another shopkeeper Muhammad Naeem alleged that a local group supported by the PML-N had put up banners carrying slogans against the Food Street on the shops. The shopkeeper said around a dozen armed men put up the banners on the shops and threatened with dire consequences if anyone removed them. “It’s an absurdity to find banners welcoming the chief minister’s decision of closing the Food Street hoisted above the same shops, which are being affected by the decision. Who will display banners against his own business and on his own shop?” he said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg13_5