Srinagar, June 14: Zaina Kadal, the old City area, which in the past used to be abuzz with business activities during marriage season, has little takers this year. Thanks to the alleged delay in the bridge repairs, which hinders prospective buyers from thronging the popular marketplace in Shaher-e-Khaas.
 The traders said the business has drastically gone down because of the ongoing bridge repairs due to which the entire traffic load is borne by the new Zaina Kadal bridge. But given the Qaziyar Chowk bottleneck, the vehicular  movement often ends up in a mess.
 “Because of all this mess shoppers avoid coming here. Our business has been badly affected,” the Traders Federation Shaher-e-Khaas Zaina Kadal President, Nazir Ahmed Shah told Greater Kashmir.
 He said most of the traders in area deal with marriage related items. “But given the zero footfall, this market remains deserted these days,” the traders complained.
 Given the ongoing marriage season, the traders said they have procured their lot in bulk. “We even borrowed money on interest to keep stocks ready for sales. But the delay in bridge work has badly affected our business,” the traders said.
 They said the project executing agency had assured that the work would be completed before the start of marriage season, “our peak business time”. “But it’s still going on at snail’s pace and there’s no hope of its early completion,” the traders said.
 They appealed the Cabinet Minister and local MLA Ali Muhammad Sagar and Divisional Commissioner Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon to look into the matter.
 “The bridge repair work picks up temporarily that too only when Sagar sahib visits the area… So for a redressal of our genuine grievance, he should keep a constant eye on the development,” the traders appealed.

Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Jun 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Thu, 14 Jun 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:00 IST