Traders hope for surge as festival nears
Srinagar, Mar 18: Kashmir’s markets came alive on Wednesday as last-minute Eid shoppers braved intermittent rain to throng Lal Chowk, Polo View and Residency Road, filling bakeries, clothing stores and sweet shops as the Valley prepared for Eid-ul-Fitr later this week.
Henna stalls, bangle vendors and decorative sellers have pitched up across the city’s main commercial areas, adding to the festive atmosphere. Traders said the rush had been building since Shab-e-Qadr and was expected to intensify further in the final days before Eid.
“The rush of shoppers has increased. The business is picking up. We hope it will pick up further till the festival,” said Manzoor Ahmad Kar, a shopkeeper at Goni Khan market.
Shaista, a customer, said Eid is incomplete without shopping and children’s gifts.
Bakery shops reported a particularly strong surge. “Eid is about traditional sweets here. Bakery goods demand has surged,” said Zahid Ahmad, owner of a bakery shop in Srinagar.
However, not all shoppers were celebrating.
Abid Ahmad Bandey, who had travelled from Beerwah in Budgam to buy essentials at Lal Chowk, said prices had risen sharply with no effective check from authorities. “Mutton, bakery, clothes – everything is being sold at exorbitant rates,” he said.
He appealed to the government to intervene. “The holy month of Ramadan teaches us that the poor should not be left to struggle. The government must play its role in controlling the price hike in the markets,” he said, adding that the burden was falling hardest on the most vulnerable sections of society.
