The weekly bazaars in Islamabad’s H-9 and G-6 sectors will remain closed from October 16 until the required fire safety measures are implemented and clearance is obtained from the relevant authorities.
The Directorate of Municipal Administration has issued a formal notification regarding the closure with the approval of the Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).
According to the notification, the administration has made it mandatory for both bazaars to obtain fire safety clearance from Capital Emergency Services and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) before reopening.
The authorities have directed the concerned departments to ensure that all necessary fire safety arrangements are completed at the two markets. The notification further states that neither market will be allowed to resume operations until the required safety measures are in place and clearance has been granted by the relevant authorities.
It is worth mentioning here that a massive fire had broken out at Islamabad’s H-9 Weekly Bazaar in June, engulfing numerous stalls and prompting a large-scale firefighting operation. According to officials, the fire erupted in Block C of the bazaar, which mainly houses shoe stalls, and spread rapidly across the area.
Firefighters, police personnel and district administration officials rushed to the scene after receiving information about the blaze. Given the intensity of the fire, assistance was also sought from neighbouring Rawalpindi, with additional fire engines and rescue personnel joining the operation.
Preliminary reports suggested that hundreds of stalls had been badly damaged. Assistant Commissioner I-9 was also present at the site, supervising the firefighting efforts. The operation to extinguish the blaze was still underway when this report was filed. The cause of the fire had not been immediately determined.
The H-9 Weekly Bazaar, popularly known as Itwar Bazaar or Sunday Bazaar, operates on Fridays, Tuesdays and Sundays and attracts large numbers of shoppers. The latest incident has renewed concerns over fire safety arrangements, electrical wiring and emergency response preparedness at the market, where fires have broken out on several occasions over the years.