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Last-minute Eid shoppers crowd malls

Mahbuba Zannat
With possibly two days left before Eid, shopping in the city has reached fever pitch as people, some to do the last minute buying and some to put the finishing touch, continued to crowd the city malls yesterday.
Though alarge number of people have already left the city for home, shopping malls are still bustling with shoppers.
"Yesterday and today we did the highest sale. Now we are expecting a massive sale of ready-made garments on chand raat (night before the Eid day)," said Salauddin Alam, ashop assistant
Jahid Hossain and his wife had purchased dresses for children and for themselves from Mascot Plaza at Uttara. And yesterday at the eleventh hour before leaving Dhaka they were buying saris and lungis from Banga Bazar for relatives and the poor.
"This is for the fifth time I'm here to buy dresses for my two children, yet I couldn’t make it," a widow said with a sigh while shopping at Banga Bazar.
Shopping fever has gripped shops on the footpath too. A hard-up father bought a frock for his only daughter with Tk 130 yesterday just before starting for his home at Bhairab.
People especially those in the middle and lower income brackets are swarming Gausia and New Market Shoppers struggled to enter the markets. But shopkeepers in both the markets said sale so far was much lower than expected. They blamed it on the recent floods and mushrooming shopping complexes in the city.
"Last year in Ramadan we sold sarees over Tk 2 lakh, whereas this year it hasn't yet passed'fk 60 thousand mark," a salesman of New Market said.
"This year price of dress is comparatively higher. Moreover, I hardly found much variety in designs of dresses and shoes in Eastern Plaza, Concord Arcadia and even in New Market," said Mita, a young lady.
Like many others, Mita and her friends had to rummage through different shopping centres throughout the Ramadan this year for reasonable price and quality.
Bashundhara City, the latest addition to the city shopping malls, has enjoyed a steady stream of shoppers since its opening. The salsemen in the complex said sale so far has met the expectations. But shopkeepers in the other markets said most people go to Bashundhara City merely for a visi t.
Many of the shoppers in Bashundhara City complained of unreasonable price. The same dress that costs Tk 2000 at Karnaphuli Garden City or Eastern Plaza, costs Tk 3200 here, they alleged. Still shoppers from upper and upper middle class relished the presence of exclusive items, in particular the globally adored brand names, at Bashundhara City, said a shopkeeper.
Though many are grappling with the rising prices, massive presence of shoppers was seen in almost all the malls from Uttara to Banga Bazar.