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The Eid shopping activities are at its peak in every nook and corner of the city and cantonment areas and great rush has been witnessed on shopping centers and commercial markets despite economic constrains and price hike.
As only a few days are left in Eid, different markets and bazaars remained open till late at night because customers start pouring in after Iftar. The readymade garments' shops both for male and female attract the buyers by displaying new verities and designs. Some female buyers while expressing their views said that the prices of readymade garments are very high but people preferred to purchase them keeping in view the quality and designs. The overall sale of Eid cards is at its lowest ebb in Sialkot and its adjoining areas as mobile phones reduced the time and distance and people are expressing their message through SMS.
It is observed in a survey conducted by Business Recorder in different shopping centers of the city and cantonment area. The Eid cards' sellers said that rapid use of mobile phones and popularity of computer technology and the facility of Internet have played an instrumental role in this sharp decline.
The excess of mobile phones and establishment of Internet cafes in every nook and corner of the city are playing vital role in reducing the time and space limit and people are benefiting of this facility and transmitting their messages and greeting via Internet and mobile phones on inexpensive rates they pointed out.
They further said that a good variety of greeting cards including Eid cards have been made available on Internet and people select their required cards and transmit to their kith and kin without any delay.
Apart from this main factor of this sharp decline is the floating of poor and substandard as well as repeated designs and high priced Eid and greeting cards have failed to attract the people on this Eid, they added. They suggested that publishers and printers should focus attention on improvement of the standards and quality of greeting cards keeping in view the sharp change.
Some male and female while expressing their views said that people are reluctant to send their Eid and greeting cards to the relatives and friends through post because of high postal charges. They suggested that government should consider minimising the postal charges on Eid so that common man may be benefited by this facility and government would earn maximum revenue by launching reduced rate facility.
The great hustle and bustle was also witnessed on bangle shops, which have doubled the attraction in shopping centers and markets. Humming of young girls and women were seen busy buying and bargaining Multani and Hyderabadi glass bangles. Huge gathering of females of different age groups was also witnessed on different "Dyers (Rangrez) shops for matching or dyeing dress according to their requirements.
Similarly, Mehndi points have also been attracting women folk where a large number of young girls and elderly women are found busy in decorating their hands with different patterns while some are purchasing "Cone Mehndi" for self decoration. The artificial jewellery and readymade garment shops have also attracted the young girls, where huge rush of girls and women was witnessed.
It was also witnessed that large number of guys were found busy in "Window Shopping" in much busy shopping centers and commercial markets of the city and cantonment areas.
A large number of males and females were found busy in purchasing the second hand garments and shoes for celebrating Eid. In the meanwhile, it was also observed that Sialkot is flooded with variety of beggars. A large number of male and female beggars are seen in different commercial and bazaars as well as in posh localities of the city and cantonment areas. It is interesting to point out that some wealthy male and female beggars unearth posh shopping centers while discussing the tempo of markets on mobile phones.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2011

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