PESHAWAR: These are the heydays for the traders, especially those dealing in readymade garments and shoes as both tailors and shoemakers have stopped accepting orders from customers since the start of Ramazan.

The zeal of customers to buy various items can be judged from the rush of people almost in every bazaar of the provincial metropolis, especially in Saddar, University Road, Meena Bazaar and Qissa Khwani despite hot weather and security threats.

“Majority of the parents have to follow their children as they have to compete with relatives and neighbours,” said Mazhar, a shopkeeper at Jinnah Street. He said that Eid shopping was at its peak and the bazaars remained closed only for a few hours after Sehr as traders also needed rest following discussions with customers throughout the day.

People visiting bazaars complain of higher prices

Mr Mazhar said that people’s enthusiasm to search for best quality stuff was obvious and its main reason was the restoration of peace. He said that traders had also brought huge consignments of readymade garments and shoes from the big markets of Karachi and Lahore and succeeded to achieve their target of sale even many days ahead of Eidul Fitr.

The shopkeeper claimed that prices of readymade garments were quite reasonable. “You can check quality of material and even wear the dress before purchase, but those preparing dresses on order will have no such options,” the trader added.

Another trader Azmat dealing in suits for children said the traders recovered the losses they had suffered during the past many years due to militancy, blasts and restrictions owing to security threats.

Though he was not satisfied with the arrangements made for security in different bazaars, he appreciated the public for taking a bold step to visit various bazaars, particularly at nighttime. He said that the people belonging to far-off areas of Peshawar or those hailing from other districts come for shopping during daytime while those living in localities around cantonment, Hayatabad, Defence and Gulberg were in the habit to come after Iftar.

“We draw shutters down before evening for a short Iftar break and then continue to serve customers till 1:00am,” said owner of a general store in Gora Bazaar selling imported cosmetics. He said those complaining of high prices could purchase items on low price, but the quality would be very low.

However, customers as usual complained of price hike and said that the shopkeepers were exploiting them because they had no other option, but to complete their shopping for Eid. They said that the administration also could not check the prices of such items because they had no fixed price.

“Shoes outlets have no fresh variety and the difference is that they have raised prices on the eve of Eid,” one Abdullah said while selecting shoes for his children in Saddar. He said that quality of the footwear was also not so good.

Anjuma-i-Tajiran president Sharafat Ali Mubarak said that prices of the garments and shoes were not high, but he believed that the customers’ purchasing power had gone down. He said that their sales had gone up by 25 per cent compared to the previous year. He expressed his satisfaction over the security arrangements.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2016