NOWSHERA, Aug 22: Gone are the days when Nowshera was known as shopping hub of foreign-made cloth and other smuggled goods thanks to the law and order situation and skyrocketing prices that have changed the priorities of the people.

The traders of Nowshera had invested millions of rupees in the business of smuggled cloth to attract shoppers from Punjab and rest of the country.

The traders from Punjab used to purchase smuggled cloth and other goods at wholesale rate in Nowhsera instead of travelling to Bara Market in Khyber Agency and Karkhano Market in Peshawar.

But the spillover of militancy from Fata to settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has now affected business activities in Nowshera badly.

The price hike and decrease in purchasing power of people has further aggravated the situation, bringing business activities to almost a standstill. Now the shopkeepers are seen waiting for buyers.

The former president of Cloth Plaza Merchants told this scribe that he had 10 shops of different items at Nowshera but his daily sale was just Rs10,000. “Just imagine how I can manage to pay the salesmen. The electricity bill, rents of shops and other daily expenses are in addition to it,” he said.

He said that his daily income was not more than Rs500. “I have been running this business for the last 40 years but have not seen such a decline,” he added.

The cantonment area has several huge cloth markets that have been built by the rich and influential people of the district.

Several new plazas are also under construction to replace the houses damaged in last year’s flood.

Mian Muzafar Shah Plaza, Khattak Plaza, Super Khattak Plaza, Gul Plaza, Ittehad Plaza, Shish Mahal, Plaza, Noor Plaza, New Gul Plaza and Kakakhel Plaza were famous for cloth business. Interestingly, the Cantonment Board has also constructed a plaza adjacent to these buildings to earn money through cloth business.

Another trader said that in the past he used to sell about 3,000 suits daily with a profit of Rs50 apiece. “But now keeping over Rs100 as margin my profit is too low as I sell only 10 to 15 suits daily,” he said.

Gul Bahadar, an Afghan shopkeeper, said that thousands of tourists including students and families used to visit Swat in the past and do shopping in Nowshera on their way back home. “But after the spread of militancy, the flow of tourists has dropped to zero, affecting our business,” he said.