Confusion rife over fate of Souq Najada Wednesday, 22 February 2012 00:57

DOHA: Shop owners in Souq Najada, the delight of limited-income shoppers in the heart of the city, say they are in a dilemma as regards their future as they have been asked by the civic authorities to submit their municipal registration and other key documents soon.

The civic authorities have recently served notices on each of the shops in the souq asking them to report to the urban planning department of the municipal ministry with the above papers within two weeks, triggering speculations that they might be eventually asked to vacate the premises.

The notice clearly says the property (the souq) has been acquired by the government ‘in public interest’ and it also talks of disconnecting utility supplies in the near future.

Speculations are that the souq might face the civic bulldozers as part of city beautification plans, but no one knows if the premises have been acquired by the government to be part of the upcoming Musherib project or the historic Souq Waqif, that is a major tourist attraction.

A shop owner told this newspaper yesterday that he had even submitted the said documents to the urban planning department of the civic ministry but had not been told what the fate of his shop or the entire souq would be.

“We are confused about the whole thing. We haven’t been officially told that the souq would be demolished to make way for some project, but rumors have been doing the rounds for quite a while that the market might be razed,” said the shop owner.

What has lent credence to such speculations is the fact that while nearly all shops keep operating in the souq, its management hasn’t bothered to replace light bulbs and tubes in its corridors that haven’t been working for a long time, shop owners say.

Speculations about the souq having been earmarked for some key public project began a few months ago when its multi-storey paid parking lot was barred for the public.

Exact estimates are not available but it is understood that there are roughly 300 shops in the souq, selling all types of consumer items, the most famous being mobile phone handsets and accessories.

Then, there are exchange houses, textile and electronic stores, tailoring shops and outlets offering stitching accessories that have been doing brisk business.

“It’s a bargain market and a delight of people like us whose incomes are limited,” said an expatriate who happened to be there looking for a ‘quality’ mobile handset at a cheaper price. Shop owners say they are shocked as they face an uncertain future. “Where would we go once we are driven out of this place,” asked an Indian shopkeeper who deals in electronic items, not wanting his name in print.

The maximum monthly rent of a shop in Souq Najada is QR5,000, while the average is QR4,000, he said. “Where would we find a substitute?” Barwa Village for most Souq Najada shop owners, according to them, is out of question because shop rents there are over QR10,000. “We can’t relocate, also because there is no business over there,” said the shopkeeper.

Shifting to the upcoming, huge commercial complex being developed by Barwa Real Estate Company in Abu Hamour is also ruled out by many Souq Najada shop owners due to what they say are ‘high rents and little business prospects’.The Peninsula

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