Sindhi Muslim Food Walk Sitting Charge Draws Anger
The Sindhi Muslim Food Walk sitting charge has drawn anger from visitors to Karachi’s newly developed food walk, who say they are being asked to pay Rs600 to sit on restaurant chairs without ordering food or drinks.
Geo Digital investigated after visitor complaints. A second social media user reported the same demand and asked whether middle-class families are being kept out of a public space.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated the walk on November 1, and the complaints surfaced within its first week.
The Sindhi Muslim Food Walk sitting charge
A restaurant employee told Geo Digital the charge was linked to monthly fees allegedly collected by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the town administration for tables and chairs on the revamped pathway.
The claim is unconfirmed, and the town administration denies it.
Visitors say the demand hits families hardest: a seat that costs Rs600 before any food is ordered turns a free evening out into a paid one.
Food prices are already a sore point in Karachi, where official beef and mutton rates rose again this week. The sitting charge adds a new cost on top of the meal itself.
Town administration denies collecting fees
TMC Chanesar Town confirmed it oversees the food walk but denied that either the town administration or KMC collects fees from restaurants for the space.
The town administration asked citizens to send written complaints or photographs naming restaurants that demand payment. It said it would seek explanations from the restaurants named.
The two accounts stand against each other: staff blame fees allegedly collected by KMC and the town administration, which says it collects nothing and wants the evidence in writing.
Traders and residents push back
Traders have their own complaints. An anonymous source told Geo Digital that traders were pressed to sign agreements for billboards along the walk, and that sales have fallen since the inauguration, with parking partly to blame.
Geo notes these claims could not be independently verified.
Residents of nearby PECHS say the road closure has pushed traffic into their streets. Ghulam Hassan said his family has lived there for 40 years.
“We have been living here for 40 years. This is not a new food street,” he said.
“We hoped something better was coming. But since its inauguration, this road has turned into a fish market,” he added.
Hassan also raised security worries, citing reports of mobile phone thefts during the opening event.
A week-old project under strain
The food walk cost Rs250 million and took from February to October 2026 to build. It runs about one kilometre between Shahrah-e-Faisal and Shahrah-e-Quaideen, opposite Tariq Road, and is run by Chanesar Town Municipal Corporation under chairman Farhan Ghani. The stretch is closed to regular vehicles from 6pm to 2am.
Five days after it opened, the project faces three separate strains: the disputed Rs600 sitting charge, traders reporting lower sales, and residents reporting worse congestion and theft fears.
The sitting charge is the sharpest of the three because it decides who can use the space: a food walk built as a public attraction cannot charge visitors for sitting down and still call itself public.
Written complaints with photographs, if they arrive, will show whether the Rs600 demand is the practice of one or two restaurants or the pattern of the whole walk.
Related coverage
- Karachi food prices are covered in Karachi Beef Mutton Prices Up Rs50-100 per Kg.
- Karachi transport is covered in Karachi Double-Decker Electric Buses Get New Routes.
- City events are covered in 14 August 2026: Events in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Faisalabad.
- Karachi honours are covered in Pakistan Excellence Awards 2026 | Karachi, October 24.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Rs600 charge at Sindhi Muslim Food Walk?
Visitors say restaurant staff demand Rs600 to sit on chairs without ordering food or drinks. A restaurant employee linked the charge to monthly fees allegedly collected by KMC and the town administration.
What does the town administration say?
TMC Chanesar Town confirmed it oversees the food walk but denied that it or KMC collects fees from restaurants for the space. It asked citizens to send written complaints or photographs naming the restaurants.
Where is the Sindhi Muslim Food Walk?
The food walk runs about one kilometre between Shahrah-e-Faisal and Shahrah-e-Quaideen, opposite Tariq Road in Karachi. It is closed to regular vehicles from 6pm to 2am.
When did the food walk open and what did it cost?
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah inaugurated it on November 1, 2026. The project cost Rs250 million and took from February 1 to October 2026 to build.
What else are traders and residents complaining about?
Traders say sales have fallen since the inauguration and that they were pressed to sign billboard agreements, claims Geo could not independently verify. Residents say the road closure pushed traffic into nearby streets and raised security worries.
