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Ctg Eid Markets

Sellers disappointed over fewer shoppers

Saidun Nabi and Minhaj Uddin, ctg
People of low income group in Chittagong have been crowding different markets on the city's footpaths to complete their Eid shopping but sellers are frustrated as the number of buyers has been less than what they anticipated.
Hundreds of people from different parts of the city continue to flock to the five footpath market hubs at New Market, Agrabad, Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ), No. 2 gate intersection and Bahadderhat where more than 4,000 shop owners display their collections.
Shop owners of different footpath markets as well as those of more elegant markets are discouraged by the dearth of shoppers in this Eid season.
Md Alam, a seasonal shop owner at New Market footpath, who sells panjabis, shirts, pants and T-shirts, expressed his disappointment over the season's sales.
“Every year the market becomes full with the start of Ramadan but this year the scenario is completely different. Ramadan is about to end but most of my items remain unsold,” saidAlam.
Other shop owners echo Alam's sentiments but most of them are optimistic that sales would boom in the last five days of Ramadan.
The footpath market of CEPZ area, with more than 800 shops, has seen highest number of shoppers compared to the other footpath markets.
Most of the shoppers at the CEPZ market are garment workers and people of low income group who have small budgets for their Eid shopping.
Rubel Das, a worker in a garment factory, was seen bargaining with a shop owner at CEPZ market over the price of a panjabi.
“This year my budget is Tk 3,000 and within this I have to shop for myself and my two brothers,” Rubel said.
But the prices of clothes are higher than last year's, he added.
"Footpath markets are ideal for us because other markets have very high prices suitable for wealthier customers,” Rubel said.
Abul Bashar, vice president of Chittagong Metropolitan Hawkers Association, said usually there are about 3,000 makeshift shops on the five footpath markets of the city.
Chittagong Metropolitan Hawkers Association is an umbrella organisation of all the hawkers' organisations of the city.
Ahead of Eid about 1,000 more shops have been set up, Bashar said.
Like other shop owners he too expects that in the last five days of Ramadan the shops would be swarming with Eid shoppers.