Footpaths abuzz with Eid shoppers

With Eid just a couple of days away, makeshift shops on footpaths in Dhaka and other major cities are doing a brisk business as people are crowding those for buying things at cheaper rates.

Men were seen thronging the makeshift stalls buying pants, jerseys, shirts, T-shirts, panjabis, trousers, footwear, belts, caps, lungis and wallets; while women were bargaining over children's clothes, garments, cosmetics, ornaments and toys.

In addition, the World Cup football, starting today, added an extra flavour to the festivity.

Fans in droves were flocking to the footpath markets to buy jerseys of their favourite teams as the price is much cheaper there compared to the shopping malls. According to traders, jerseys of Argentina and Brazil were in great demand among the fans.

Makeshift shops in different cities and district towns, including Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Rangpur, Sylhet and Comilla, are also abuzz with Eid shoppers, according to the news agency's district correspondents.

However, some of the vendors expressed their worry as sporadic rain was hampering their business.

In Dhaka, shoppers were completing their last minute shopping at the makeshift shops in Nilkhet, Motijheel, Paltan, Jatrabari, Sadarghat, Gulistan, Bangabazar, Farmgate, Mirpur-1, Mirpur-10, Mohakhali, Fakirapool, Mouchak, Rampura and Badda areas.

Abdul Hakim, a guard at a private bank, was buying shirts for his son at Gulistan. “I can buy products at cheaper rates here. I bought a shirt at Tk 400.”

Anwara Begum, an RMG worker, at Mouchak, said, “Compared to the markets and shopping malls, prices are more affordable here.”

The makeshift shops are also a preferred choice for students.

Alamgir Hossain, a Dhaka College student, said he first visited some stalls at shopping malls to buy a pair of pants and a jersey of Brazil. “But the prices were out of my budget. They were asking Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,000 for pants while Tk 1,200 for a jersey. Later, I came here, Nilkhet, and bought a pair of pants at Tk 500 and a jersey at Tk 600.”

Many of the vendors said sales were higher compared to last year's.

Kamal Hossain, a vendor at Motijheel, said though the sale was good, they could have done even better had there been no rain.

Nazmul Hossain, a salesperson of a jersey shop at New Market, said due to the World Cup, the demand for jerseys skyrocketed. “We're also witnessing a huge rush of customers and sales are also good.”