Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 7: On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, markets and shopping malls in Kashmir have come alive with hordes of shoppers rushing for shopping a day before Eid.
Markets opened very early this morning and shoppers were busy in purchasing of both eatables as well as other goods.
Shoppers from different areas of rural Kashmir also thronged city malls, fashion houses, boutique shops, market places and kiosks across the city markets in huge numbers and shopped till evening.
In Valley’s tertiary commercial hub, Lal Chowk, markets remained jam-packed with shoppers moving from one extreme of the market to another. Elsewhere in Poloview, Sarai Bala, Maharaj Bazaar, Koker Bazaar, and in old city, markets were abuzz with shopping activities.
“Though Eid rush picks up in the last ten days of Ramadan, but this year momentum and that usual atmosphere of festivity was missing. It’s only in the last two days that the rush has started picking up,” said Abrar Ahmad, a readymade shopkeeper in Lal Chowk.
In view of the huge rush of people to markets, Traffic authorities have issued a traffic plan for city Centre to decongest the City Centre and to help in smooth regulation of traffic.
In some places complaints of over charging prices have been received from general public. Hoarders and profiteers are minting money from gullible citizens as prices of daily-use items have spiked.
Putting control on prices and check on hording, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (CAPD) Department claims it has constituted special squads for market checking
“Special squads constituting Municipality and Police officials are doing rounds of city markets. From last few days we collected a huge amount as fine from those shopkeepers who were resorting to hoarding and profiteering, and we will continue to keep a check on them. It is unfortunate that shopkeepers take advantage of the Eid rush for making few extra bucks,” said Abdul Rashid War, Joint Director CAPD.
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