Paper market turns out a damp squib

Conceived two decades ago with soaring ambition, the Ghazipur paper market or the Integrated Freight Complex currently stands as a cautionary tale of misplaced intent and unkept promises

- Karn Pratap Singh and Snehil Sinha

On a recent afternoon, the main gate of the Ghazipur paper market, once meant to usher paper traders into Delhi’s wholesale future, was submerged under knee-deep water. Ithad not rained for two days, yet the road was still impassable—a trough of filth and stagnant puddles that swallowed shoes and tyres alike.

‘We set out to find a plot number that, on paper, seemed easy to locate, listed as “close” to the entry gate. But to the left stretched a strip of sludge, impassable even for car tyres. So we veered right, following the winding lane past one alley and then another. Shopfronts lined the way —selling cold drinks, tiles, water dispensers, even legal services — but not a single one dealing in paper or printing.

By noon, liquor shops were alive with customers, bottles cracked open on counters, murmured conversations rising with the sharp tang of alcohol that hung over the road. Still unable to locate the numbered plot, we found a second entry — its approach road clogged with debris, water and garbage, yet improbably alive with workers and small stalls, scraping out a living in the middle of neglect.

This was once meant to be the beating heart of Delhi's logistics dream: the Ghazipur paper market, or Integrated Freight Complex. Conceived two decades ago with soaring ambition, it now stands as an echo chamber of what might have been — acautionary tale of misplaced intent and unkept promises.

A grand plan that faltered

In the early 2000s, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allotted 631 shops here at concessional rates to Chawri Bazar traders. The pitch was compelling: leave behind Old Delhi’s narrow lanes for wide roads, strategic access to the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, and proximity to Anand Vihar's transit hub.

But the logic never persuaded traders. Chawri Bazar's pull was too strong — its loyal customers, its easy access to Old and New Delhi railway stations, its ingrained habits of commerce.