Jummerat Bazaar Scrap market worth its weight in gold

Jummerat Bazaar is an old wayside market located in Old City, adjacent to Muslim Jung Bridge area near Begum Bazaar in the south zone of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. The bazaar is a weekly flea market that opens every Thursday at 4 am and closes at 3 pm. In fact people start gathering by Wednesday night with their wares. Most of the items sold here are said to be either stolen or bought from rag pickers. One can get anything from a tiny pack of safety pins to huge and bulky items such as decorated horse carts and other heavy usable items at a throwaway price.

More than 500 small vendors having been doing business since a longtime here, selling a diverse array of items like electronic goods, steel and wooden furniture, old currency, body building equipment, shoes, construction materials, etc, can be obtained here. There is no limit to what you might find here - from imitation jewellery to a whole cricket set that you can pick out for Rs 50. Goods are sold here on a first-come-first-serve basis: those who drop in early are the lucky ones to get deal.

One should be smart and skillful in dealing with such items, as they get cajoled some times. The star attractions of the place are the footwear stalls. Though the source of the shoes remains a mystery, the traders say they buy it from cobblers or from discarded lots. Old scrap items, which include typewriters, telephones, automobile parts, are available at throwaway price.

History

Historically, it started more than a century ago, during the Nizam’s rule in Hyderabad, when goods used by Nizam used to be sold at Musim Jung Bridge near Begum Bazaar and Dhoolpet. Slowly, it transformed into a place where a wide range of used articles are sold on a weekly basis, which is visited equally by the poor, who come for a good bargain, and by the rich, who come to buy rare antiques. Jummeraat, which literally means the eve of Friday, is the name given to this flea market that is set up every Thursday. This one begins just before sunrise and some stuff here is said to be stolen ware. That's why the market is informally known as Chor Bazaar.

Problems

Some locals say, “Things are bought and sold anonymously, which is highly advantageous for thieves and criminals. There are certain reports that say that culprits in the Dilsukhnagar bomb blast case had bought cycles from here.” “There is a need to make the bazaar an organised market, keeping in view of the government policy which is looking forward to make Hyderabad a globally city on par with Singapore, Malaysia and other cities,” it was added.

The residents were peeved about movement being restricted every Thursday, due to the street’s entrance being blocked by the street vendors. “The local police are helpless to come to our rescue, in spite of the many complaints lodged,” said a resident.

By:Ch Saibaba