Vendors, patrons lament closure of Daryaganj Sunday book bazaar

With the historic Sunday book bazaar at Daryaganj having been shut for three weeks in a row, its patrons and book vendors at the market are left with several questions. 
The Sunday book market has been shut down following a July order by the Delhi High Court| Parveen Negi
The Sunday book market has been shut down following a July order by the Delhi High Court| Parveen Negi

NEW DELHI: With the historic Sunday book bazaar at Daryaganj having been shut for three weeks in a row, its patrons and book vendors at the market are left with several questions.

 “What harm do books cause to society? Rather, the shutting down of this market is a big loss to people who come from all over to purchase books at cheaper rates,” said Subhash Chand Aggarwal, a former pradhan of the market. 

“It is a historical market. So many tourists visit it. They shop at our stall. Readers and students who can’t afford to buy books from stores come to us to buy old editions. Where will they go now,” asked Aggarwal, who has been setting up his stall of books at the Sunday bazaar for about four decades. 

According to him, about 250 vendors set up their stalls at the market, each stall having two or three workers.    

He said the market was contributing to the global goal of education for all. “Nobody should be left uneducated. This market is doing service to the society. We set up stalls just to earn our livelihood and we set them up just once a week,” he stressed.

The Sunday book market has been shut down following an order by the Delhi High Court last month.

Even though North Delhi Municipal Corporation Commissioner Varsha Joshi has said that an alternative location for the market was being looked for, Daryaganj Patri Sunday Book Bazaar Welfare Association Director Qamar Sayeed, 54, said that business would suffer. 

“The market has been growing across the years. Relocation would be a setback, but we are still fine if they provide us with a clean space somewhere near Daryaganj... so that a similar situation doesn’t arise again and we are not asked to relocate again. Also, it should happen soon. This is the time of the year when students buy books,” Qamar Sayeed said.

He added: “We are just selling books. How are we harming anyone? The population has been growing, traffic has been increasing everywhere. They can’t say only the market is causing it.” 

For Vishal Narayan, a journalist, who has been buying books from the market for over a decade, the court decision was “sad”.

“I found some of the hardest to find books there at dirt-cheap prices, like the abridged version of the six-volume The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I bought it—pristine condition—for just `200. It would be great if the authorities shift it soon to some accessible location,” he said.

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