Businesses in city to resume after Eid break

Traders’ leader said 27% of them have been reopened

PESHAWAR: The city will be abuzz with activity as the Eidul Fitr holidays have drawn to a close and people would return to their routine.

“Businesses at almost 27% of the shops have been resumed while the rest are expected to open on Monday (today),” Peshawar Traders’ Union Central President Mujeebur Rehman told the media.

Not only businesses, roads would also get back to being clogged with vehicles.

The traffic was thin during Ramazan as according to traffic police officials the scorching weather kept many people confined to their houses. They only went out to shop after sunset.

However, a traffic sergeant, Zahidullah, said traffic at night during the last 10 days of Ramazan was thick, especially in Saddar and on University Road. “Car would get stuck [on the roads] for an hour,” he said. “But in the day time the traffic was 30% of what is usually is on other days.”

An official of Peshawar traffic police, Khizar Rehman, said they will deploy extra police personnel so tackle the situation during peak hours so that the cars could be kept moving.

Low sales

However, the traders’ union leader was not pleased with the overall situation, although law and order remained stable during Ramazan. He was unhappy over the low trade volume that was 60% of what it was in the preceding year. However, he said there were reasons due to which the businesses remained comparatively cold.

“First, the hot weather forced people to stay at home and secondly, the police’s unnecessary checking points across the city added fuel to the fire as people felt insecure,” Rehman said.

Moreover, he said the turnout of public also affected trade.

“We don’t have a parking lot in the whole Saddar Bazaar, which is the hub of commercial activities in Peshawar,” he said. “This is why we could not cash the peaceful security situation.”

He believed the public did not have the capacity to spend money. “People got their salaries a head of Ramazan and they had no money left for the whole month. “Around 60% of the stock which traders had brought for Eid has been left behind,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2016.