RAWALPINDI, Oct 27: The Rawal Town Municipal Administration on Wednesday received poor response to its bid to auction contracts for wagon and Suzuki stands, slaughter house and 105 shops.

Sources told Dawn that the TMA had invited contractors for the auction but only few of them turned up forcing the authorities to postpone the process for Suzuki and wagon stand, the slaughter house, 96 shops and nine public toilets. Only nine shops were auctioned on the occasion.

The TMA wanted to award contract of 25 shops at Ghazni Market, Bagh Sardaran; 20 shops at Banni Market, Banni Chowk and 60 shops at Gol Sabzi Mandi, Gunjmandi.

A total of eight shops at Gol Sabzi Mandi and one shop at Banni Market were auctioned on the occasion. When contacted, Town Municipal Officer Shehzad Haider said they had earlier awarded the contract of wagon stand for Rs4.65 million on September 7 but cancelled it as the contractor failed to response on time.

He said the TMA had also invited people for the auction of goods worth Rs1.4 million, confiscated during anti-encroachment drives, but the parties would not agree to pay more than Rs600,000.

He said the contract would be awarded through public auction in line with the provincial government's policy.

He said since no party showed interest in the contract of slaughter house at Ratta Amral, the bids would be re-invited.

The contractors wanted the TMA to bear the electricity charges of the slaughter house and also termed the facility very small. He said the TMA had shifted the main Suzuki and wagon stand from Fawara Chowk to old Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation offices. —A Reporter