Srinagar, Nov 14: Markets are teeming with the shoppers. Pavements are full of street vendors on a stretch. Traffic jams at major intersections. Pedestrians and commuters troubled by the chaos.  As the days ahead of Eid ul Azha, which falls on November 17, inch towards normalcy the shopping is in full swing.
 Hundreds of people thronged markets and huge rush was witnessed on almost all the bakery, sweets and confectionery shops. The Eid shoppers were also seen purchasing footwear and garments from the street vendors. To allure the customers, the shopkeepers have colorfully decorated their outlets and are offering huge discounts.
 Butcher and poultry shops are also witnessing a huge rush.  
 However, some shop owners and other people associated with the trade complained that shopping is yet to pick for Eid-ul-Azha festival.
 "There has been the considerable drop in the Eid eve buying spree,” a shoe shop owner said. “May be it is due to strikes and curfews that crippled life and sucked economy for the five consecutive months. There are some days left before eid, we believe the sales would pick up. This time people are mostly purchasing bakery, poultry and meat other than garments”.
 According to official estimates quoted by PTI, the state economy has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 27,000 crore during the recent agitation across the Valley. Most of the losses were suffered on account of taxes and levies which could not be collected.
 Meanwhile, small batches of sacrificial goats and sheep were seen at small intersections and open places like Eidgah in Srinagar. At various places, the people were seen haggling with the sellers.  
 "We have bought sheep and goats for Rs 14 lakh 2-weeks back but we are now running short of stocks," said Ghulam Jeelani attending the herd at Eidgah in old city.
 The government has issued a rate list of items while the rates for the poultry has been fixed at Rs 80 per kg,  for sheep and goats it is Rs 100 and Rs 95 per kg, respectively.
 Poultry and mutton dealers have already rejected the government rates and threatened to protest if they were forced to sell their products on the officially prescribed rates.
 On the other hand frequent traffic jams at major junctions of Srinagar and adjoining created chaos in the entire city. The roads running through the city like Rambagh, Jehangir Chowk, Natipora, and Dalgate besides Pantha Chowk Bye-pass, were almost completely choked and vehicles have to wait hours before they could move ahead.
 “It took me extra 50 minutes to travel from Dalgate to Lal chowk,” a commuter Arif Ahmad said.
 The commuters blamed authorities for mismanagement for the whole traffic mess. “Traffic police department should have made arrangements to manage this day,” Ahmad said.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Nov 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 IST