PHOTO: AGHA MEHROZ/FILE

RAWALPINDI: Whether it is the fear of being hauled up by officials of the apex anti-corruption watchdog or the fear of seeing their money and valuables getting lost in an economic tsunami, or just that people want their possessions to be protected for when they leave the city for summer vacations, residents of the garrison city have been buying up safes and lockers.



As a result of the increased demand and perhaps due to the spiralling rupee and inflation, safe traders have raised their prices.



A market survey conducted by The Express Tribune showed that a large number of metal safes were being produced, and sold.



The prices of lockers and safes were also investigated during the market survey.



The market survey showed that the price of a heavyweight safe or locker ranges from Rs10,000 to Rs100,000. Stores charge an additional Rs5,000 for optional services rendered in installing the safe at the customer’s home.



Over the span of the past few days, the sale and purchase of safes have increased at the markets along Murree Road, in Shah Sultan, Raja Bazaar, Trunk Bazaar and Mochi Bazaar — the last market has the largest concentration of wholesalers and retailers of vaults.



Traders who deal in vaults said that they have seen an uptick in the number of people who are buying vaults.



The odd thing, he said, was that ordinary people were thronging their stores to purchase safes when it was usually corporations, financial institutions or banks who were primarily interested in them.



Locker trader Humair Raja said that he imports digital lockers from China which are made of a mix of different metals. He said that his usual set of customers comprise companies and institutes.



Over the past month, though, he said that he has seen a demand for safes and digital lockers increase.



Asked the reason for the sudden increase in people buying vaults, Raja said customers tell him that they want to store their money safely at home after withdrawing it from the banks.



The sentiment betrays the public’s lack of trust in the formal banking system.



Asked about the different prices of lockers, Raja said that they varied on the basis of the locking mechanisms — digital or analogue, the type and quantity of metal used and the robustness of its construction.



“The price is higher depending on the quality of metal used in making it,” he said.



Responding to a question about importing safes, he said besides other things, China is an expert at manufacturing safes and lockers.



This is the reason why the market is flooded with Chinese safes, he explained.



About the preference of customers, he said that most people today prefer to buy vaults with a digital locking mechanism, considering it far more secure and uncrackable than safes with analogue mechanisms.



Moreover, he said that digital vaults and lockers have the option to install bio-metric locking mechanisms, which adds another layer of security.



However, the price of vaults with a biometric system is twice that of regular digital vaults.



M Nasir, who was buying a safe in the market, explained his purchase as a desire to securely store his money and some other valuable documents which he kept at home.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2019.