Preparations for Eid shopping begin in earnest after the observance of Shab-e-Barat. The countdown to the festival begins from the very first day of Ramadan. And with it the spree of Eid shopping takes off. Throughout whole month of Ramadan, the cities in the country remain abuzz with countless numbers of Eid shoppers. They throng big and small shopping malls and markets. As the month of fasting wears on, Eid shopping in Dhaka keeps gaining momentum. With the shoppers flooding their preferred markets, many moving from one to another, the whole capital appears to be overrun by them. Due to being on fasting, many people prefer to do the shopping during daytime. Many others set out for the markets late in the evening after Iftar. The shopping centres remain open till late into the night. This has been the Eid shopping spectacle in Dhaka for over a couple of decades.
At this point one would like to insert the traffic gridlock situation that continues to worsen with every passing day in the city. In the recent years, the clogged Dhaka roads leading to Eid shopping markets have reached a dreadful state. The Eid shoppers come out of their homes in a jovial mood. By the time they return home, the look devastated. A bitter, acidic taste lingers in the mouth. Due to the chockablock situation of the roads, various modes of transport, especially rickshaws, remain stuck in the same place. Private cars get lost in the maze of buses and minibuses; while buses continue to rear-end each other. The traffic police look around helplessly, frantically waving hands and the signal lights.
Year in and year out, this messy traffic scenario has been continuing to be etched on the public mind. Given this depressing turn of the pre-Eid traffic situation in Dhaka, a lot of people now dread the very thought of coming out for shopping. Many have shortened their shopping time. Many others have changed their shopping venues by opting for the markets in their broader neighbourhoods. In the meantime, Eid shopping online is fast becoming popular among a section of the Dhaka residents.
There are remedies for coming out of this unbearable situation. They rest with the traffic movement and controlling authorities. Dhaka has the ability to emerge as an ideal city for Eid shopping. What is needed for this development is a set of emergency traffic plans, temporary re-designing of traffic routes and increase in the number of traffic law enforcement people around the Eid shopping markets.
Kazi A. Mansoor
Uttara, Dhaka
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