Farooq, a roadside vendor selling bun-kababs on Burnes Road, is not thrilled by the idea that his area would become an officially-recognised food street and believes it could benefit shopkeepers more than the thelaywalas.

“I have been here for the past two decades and never ran short of customers. The food street might help the expensive restaurants and shops to catch new clientèle for their costlier stuffs,” Farooq says.

He is one of many vendors having hot sale of their food varieties they offer on cheap prices on main Burnes Road and the congested streets cutting through this artery that has been a famous spot for gourmets for decades now.

The authorities initially announced that they would declare the area a food street on August 14, but now it has been postponed till September 6. Some promoters and publicity managers got the project postponed to buy some time to catch maximum advertisements from hundreds of establishments involved in food business.

The area has been named after Dr James Burnes, who had successfully treated Mir Murad Ali Khan Talpur, one of the last Talpur rulers of Sindh, in 1828.

Now a visitor will have to be prepared to endure a permanent sound of kat-a-kat, kat-a-kat, kat-a-kat and chip-chop chip-chop. People come here to have delicious Biryani and Haleem, and also get their share of chicken and lamb rotating on radiant skewers.

Most shopkeepers of Burnes Road are happy and hope for brighter business prospects

“It is a good decision,” Aslam, known for offering delicious khoya and creamy lassi, declares. “Designating our area as food street will double our clientèle and people could also have fun along with food.”

Mushtaq, a waiter at Café Waheed, famous for its Dhaga Kabab, hopes the food street will help revive the lost glitter and glory of Burnes Road that it has been enjoying till the early Eighties.

“People still swarm here for delicious and cheap food varieties, but then our area is also famous for hygiene and cleanliness,” he says.

Dr Tahir Soomro, head of the city government’s transport department, says his officials have the task to design viable traffic routes to ensure smooth traffic flow. “We have done most of our job,” he says.

Other arrangements include establishing a public address system effective for all over the area, façade uplift of the old and beautiful buildings and a series of illuminations.

Many residents say the hustle bustle the food street is going to offer won’t irritate them, but it will be a blessing in disguise for them at least!

“We have become familiar with the noise created by katakat and chip-chop and the clamorous shopkeepers and visitors, but a food street will certainly rid us of the noise and air pollutions being created by large smoke-emitting vehicles,” says a resident, Mohammad Ali.