[sustran] Amritsar traders also against PRTS - Say it will adversely affect their business

[Asija, Navdeep]

*Perneet Singh/Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service

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The Town Hall area view now and (below) the future look with the PRTS in
place. Tribune photos
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Amritsar, July 7
A day after conservation and architecture experts aired their concern
regarding the PRTS project in the holy city, the trading community at Hall
Bazaar and nearby markets has also expressed apprehensions about the plan
taking a toll on their businesses.

These traders are against the project right since its beginning. Hall
Bazaar traders had even shut their shops in protest against the project on
December 12 last year within days of Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal laying its
foundation stone.

Talking to The Tribune, Mahesh Mittal, a stationery shop owner, said the
PRTS project would spell doom for their businesses. "The Sherawala Gate to
Dharam Singh Market stretch was once a buzzing commercial area, but today
you will not find even a small tea shop there".

He said the PRTS would also not benefit the commuters. "Most commuters from
Gol Bagh side of the railway station don't even take a rickshaw which
charges Rs 10 per person up to the Golden Temple. They prefer to walk it".
He said the PRTS fare was being projected at Rs 15-Rs 20 per person at
present, which was bound to increase by the time the project was launched.
He said the government should instead run battery-operated or CNG vehicles,
besides constructing multi-storey parking lots in and around the walled
city to reduce traffic congestion.

Ankur Sharma, who owns an electric appliances shop at Hall Bazaar, said the
PRTS would adversely affect the traders, particularly the retailers. "I
fear that we will not be able to survive this jolt. The project will start
hitting our businesses even before its start, as its construction phase
will throw the traffic out of gear, leading to a chaos. Besides, shifting
of power cables, sewerage and water lines will also create a mess in the
market".

Anil Kumar, another shopkeeper, said: "Where is the space for PRTS? The
authorities have already demarcated a 7-ft footpath on either sides of the
road, besides earmarking space for vehicle parking on the roadsides. There
is hardly any space left for the vehicles to move".

Referring to the state of affairs, he said the MC had installed lamp posts
on the roadsides each costing Rs 70,000, but almost all of them had gone
defunct while the plan to underground power and other cables remained on
paper.

Satnam Singh Kanda, who owns a hotel in Dharam Singh Market, said: "The
tourists visit Amritsar not only to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple but
also to shop at Hall Bazaar and other old markets which have their own
charm. The government must understand that business in the walled city
thrives primarily on tourists who may lose touch with heritage bazaars once
the PRTS comes up"