PESHAWAR, Dec 7: With the month of Ramazan heading towards its end, Eid shopping has picked momentum at various bazaars of the provincial capital.

All the major shopping centres are wearing a festive look with shops remain open till late night. To attract customers, some of the shopkeepers have decorated their shops.

The customary increase in the prices of all items including garments, shoes and other commodities attached with the Eid fails to dampen the spirit of people who throng the shopping centres in large numbers.

The hustle and bustle at the shopping centres in Saddar bazaar, University Road, Karkhano bazaar, Qissa Khwani and other areas of city has become a common sight nowadays.

Most of the buyers have been showing interest in garments, shoes, bangles, henna, Eid cards, etc. People belonging to all walks of life, mostly youngsters could be seen in the shopping centres. Some of the leading stores have also announced “sale” to attract more and more shoppers.

“We have tried our level best to keep the prices as low as possible, but due to continuous price-hike we cannot further reduce the prices,” said owner of a leading garment store.

He said as they wanted to exhaust their available stuff they had announced sale of their items. He claimed that although the rush had enhanced manifold in the markets, but compared to last year the number of genuine shoppers remained low.

After Iftar, people start visiting these bazaars. Apart from the genuine shoppers, there is also a big majority of window-shoppers who used to frequent shops, not for buying anything but to keep themselves informed about latest trends in garments and shoes. This category of visitors is usually the last one to return back to their residences.

A large number of students of the Peshawar University and adjacent colleges, living in different hostels, are regular visitors of the University Road and Saddar bazaars.

The eateries on University Road and Cantonment area also become active after Iftar. At night, almost all the restaurants and fast food shops remain overcrowded. The display of driving skills by youngsters, usually sons of government servants driving official vehicles, is also a routine exercise visible on all the major roads of these shopping centres.

As usual the traffic police act as a silent spectator before these youngsters.