It's business as usual at crumbling Ghaffar Mkt

Broken windows dangling from the upper floors, plaster peeling off walls, a mesh of overhead wires, and hungry stray dogs in the abandoned corridors - this is the condition of Delhi's beloved, though infamous, Ghaffar market.

- Paras Singh

The five-storey MCD market in Karol Bagh, which is home to a row of shops that sell cheap mobile phone parts, accessories, and other electronics, is crumbling. Over two years ago, multiples notices were slapped on the walls of the market by the erstwhile North MCD warning "consumers, occupiers and owners" to vacate the premises within three days over safety concerns.

The notice was issued under Section 349 of The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, but since then, neither have people vacated the building, nor has it been repaired by the MCD.

A trader, on condition of anonymity, told HT, "We have to stay here despite everything as it's a matter of livelihood. The tarpaulin sheet we use on top of our makeshift shop doubles up as a way of catching any piece that might scrape off from the floors above."

All 75 shops are on the ground floor. The top four floors, which once housed banks, export centres and offices, were vacated 10 years ago, and are now in a constant state of deterioration. The trader said, "The MCD should repair or retrofit the building as soon as possible." Despite repeated attempts, MCD did not respond to queries regarding cracks in the building, relocation of shops or retrofitting the building complex.

On November 1, HT did a spot check and found glaring structural problems that can, perhaps, one day lead to catastrophic consequences.

Risky business

The July 23, 2021 notice was based on a structural audit of the building carried out by IIT, Roorkee, that year. The audit report flagged that active corrosion had been reported in the building, especially in the basement floor - which meant that any maintenance done without stopping corrosion would be futile. Despite the alarm, traders resisted vacating Ghaffar Market, and approached the district court for stay. MCD had, in the meantime, floated the proposal to redevelop and relocate the market to three alternative sites.