QUETTA, Oct 29: With only five days left to Eidul Fitr, no humming business is witnessed in the city and shopkeepers dealing in readymade garments, shoes, hosiery and the like are seen sitting idle, waiting for customers in shopping centres.

One can easily guess that the dullness looming over the market is the result price-hike and the devastating Oct 8 earthquake that played havoc in the NWFP and Kashmir.

A large number of people from Kohistan, Azad Kashmir and other affected parts of the NWFP settled in Quetta have lost their near and dear ones in the earthquake. The rest of the city population also share the grief of their friends and neighbours and they are not in a festive mood to celebrate the Eid with traditional zeal and fervour. Many have left for the affected areas to help and console their survived relatives.

The foremost reason behind the slow business is seemed to be the economic crisis being faced by Balochistan for the last two and half years. There is no flow of money in Balochistan from Islamabad which has resulted in stopping development activities in the province.

“Balochistan’s development and other activities depend on the money flow from Islamabad which it is not receiving,” independent economist Prof Sadiq Mohammad said. “When development activities will be halted, people will be affected as they will not receive money,” he was of the opinion.

Delay in announcing the National Finance Commission award is also a factor that has deprived Balochistan of its due share and has worsened the economic situation in the province. The provincial government in this situation has no option but to obtain overdraft from the State Bank. The Balochistan government has so far borrowed around Rs10 billion from the State Bank to meet its day-to-day expenditures.

Mega projects, including the Gwadar deep seaport, Mirani Dam and the Coastal Highway, have failed to improve the economic condition of the common man as all these projects are being completed by foreign contractors or construction companies. These projects have so far not benefited the working class and other people and the lack of resources has badly affected the purchasing power of the common man.

The price-hike has affected the purchasing power of not only the common man but also of the salaried class. Due to the rise in prices of essential commodities, the household can only buy food items after paying utility bills, house rents and children’s school fees. The increasing petroleum prices have also led to the price-hike, adding to miseries of the poor class.

Usually Eid shopping gets momentum after Ramazan 15 and it reaches the peak in the last week of the month. People purchase cloths, shoes and other items to celebrate Eid. However, this did not happen in Quetta this year.

The shopkeepers who were waiting for the salaried class in the last week of Ramazan have now lost their hopes as government employees are not coming for Eid shopping even after receiving their salaries.

A shopkeeper said his sales could hardly reach 50 per cent of the last year during Ramazan despite the fact that government employees have been paid their salaries before time owing to Eid.

“I was expecting customers after payment of their salaries but the situation has not changed even after payment of salaries,” Shaukat Ali, who is running a shop in a busy area of the provincial capital, said.

“Our shops are full of items but there is no customer,” Jamil Bukhari, who owns a shoes shop on the Jinnah Road, said.

Most of the shopkeepers and traders are of the view that the government has been making tall claims about brining economic stability in the country and improving the life standard of people but practically it has done nothing for the common man.

“The 12 billion foreign reserves have not benefited the common man as their purchasing power is decreasing day by day,” Abdul Rahim Kakar, president of the Central Traders Organization, Balochistan, said.

He said the price-hike has also broken the backbone of people and they are not able even to purchase cloths and shoes for their children.

He said that last year a bumper sale was witnessed during Ramazan and all stocks of traders were finished before Eid but this year they would suffer a big loss if the situation did not in the next few days.