Nur Islam Mamun, a resident of Mirpur-12 Block-C, arrived at Mirpur-10 Shah Ali Plaza to purchase Punjabi for his father and son. However, he could not afford one for himself.
"If the prices were under control, I could have bought one for myself as well. Last year, I bought Punjabi from this market for Tk 1200, but currently it is Tk 1600," he lamented.
On the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, a horde of buyers floods Mirpur's marketplaces, spanning from the Mirpur-10 roundabout to the Mirpur-13 bus stand in the east, Sony Cinema Hall in the west, and Al Helal Hospital in the south. All kinds of clothes are available in these markets.
A week ago, makeshift sellers were driven out from the Mirpur-10 area. About a week later they returned with their goods again. Md Sujan used to do business in the Mirpur-10 roundabout. He said that after the authorities evicted the makeshift shops. Many people came looking for the shops for a few days.
“Many people do not know that the shops are reestablished. Fewer people are coming to the shops for this. And when the curd is gone for four days, people will start coming when they get to know about this when they know about this re-establishment.” Sujan said with anger, “If they were not driven not before this Eid it would not cause as much damage to them.”
Mirpur-1 is a well-known place for wholesale items such as shoes, sandals, Punjabi, pants, shirts, t-shirts, sarees, three-pieces, etc. Here, Muktijodha Market, Shah Ali City Corporation Market, and Shadheen Bangla Super Market are full of customers, and the sellers are passing a very busy time.
Kader Mia has been doing business for the last 20 years. He said, “I thought that since Eid and Baisakh are together, the sales will be more. But the customers that are coming see the products but no one is buying anything.”
Mirpur Banarasi Palli is a hub for sarees. This place is well-established for Banarasi, Jamdani, Katan, etc. Traders said that customers are coming but the sale amount is much less than usual. They are hopeful that after Eid-ul-Fitr wedding season will arrive and their sales will incline.
Mirpur-11 Nannu Market and Mohammadia Market can be seen gathering buyers and sellers. Niloy Hossain, a resident of Kalshi, was seen negotiating the prices of clothes at Samia Fabrics.
He said, “It has become difficult for those of us who have moderate incomes to do Eid shopping in this market. I came to do some shopping ahead of Eid, but it looks like I won't be able to. If the price falls in somewhere else I might take it from there."
Zainul Hossain, a seller of Samia Fabrics, said, "Everyone wants to buy ready-made clothes nowadays, but no one wants to buy these clothes as a result the amount of this clothing is going down nowadays. Even those who used to come at other times are not buying it.”
When asked how the prices of clothes have increased this time, he said, "According to the quality, prices of different clothes have increased."
Nannu Market also saw some shops crowded and some shops almost empty. Kamal Uddin, seller of pants shirt shop Lavanya Fashion, said, "Some customers were coming a little while ago. The market has not yet matured. The sale may increase after a few days."
Many people buy Punjabi ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Nasim Mia, a seller at Noor Alam Punjabi and Lungi store, said, “Punjabi is selling well for Eid. But maybe it will increase later in the evening. People's income is low, many people have not received salaries yet; there may be fewer sales this time."
Mirpur-10 Hope Plaza Market is famous for girls' three-piece, one-pitch clothes. Mozammel Haque, the seller of a shop said, “Customers are coming like any other day. Ahead of Eid, there is no extra sale.”
Tanya Akhter was going home after buying clothes. She said, "The clothes quality here is good and the prices are low as well, so I bought them from here."
Mirpur Shopping Center is located opposite Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur-2. Here, all kinds of products, including clothes, jewellery, crockery, home appliances, etc are available in one place.
Sujon Molla, a salesman for Nowrin Fashion, said, “Our shop is mainly female-focused. All kinds of sarees, three-piece, and children's readymade wares can be found here. The price of our product is a bit high as shop rent, other bills are included.”
Mirpur-12 also has some good shopping malls, such as Pallabi Shopping Centre, Mirpur DOHS shopping Complex, etc. People gathered there to do their Eid shopping.
Md Nazmul Hasan Mahmud, president Bangladesh Shop Business Owner’s Association said, “From the outward point of view, the crowd was seen, but the sales did not increase much. Buyers have started arriving since last Friday. But overall sales are down by 40 per cent compared to last year.”
“People are now buying fewer things due to the rising inflation and commodity prices hike. We are hopeful because many people will be receiving their salaries at the beginning of the month. Hopefully, we will be able to sell well in the third week.”
