Eid shopping gains momentum

---

FE Report
Eid shoppers in large numbers are turning out in the markets with the big festival only a week away.
Shop keepers in all areas of the city have show-cased their special products since the start of Ramadan to see their sales picking up.
Starting from posh boutiques and shopping malls in Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Banani areas to street shops spread throughout the capital, business is brisk and better than last year, according to salesmen.
They said the sale of merchandise has increased by about 20-25 on average compared to last year.
Business insiders said Eid shopping gained momentum over the last few days as most of the public and private organisations have already cleared the wages and bonuses to their officials and employees.
Requesting anonymity a salesman said: "This year we are also getting our valued clients back in the market who not only buy for themselves but also for their relatives and well-wishers."
Textile millers, however, said their sales in the domestic market at the fag end of the Eid shopping days received a sudden boost.
"Our sales increased by at least 20 per cent over the past few days," said director of Sadman Textile, Saiful Islam.
"I am very happy with the sales at the fag end of Eid shopping days. Over the last few days sales marked an impressive growth," a shop owner Rafiqul Islam in the city's Gauchia market said.
"Sales increased by at least 25 per cent compared to the previous Eid festival," he added.
Apart from individual buyers, he also said that politicians and elite of the society are returning to the market and buying large quantities of sari, lungi, panjabi and shirts for distribution among the poor people.
"I have some regular customers including political leaders and elite of the society to whom I already sold several thousand pieces of sari, lungi and panjabi," said a wholesaler in the city's Islampur.
He said orders from retail traders from across the country also increased to a large extent in the past few days.
Abdur Rahim in Babubazar said: "I received orders from around one hundred politicians and elite for delivery of over 100,000 pieces of lungi only in the last two days."
A large number of salesmen in the city's Mouchak, New market, Bangabazar also said that sales of readymade shirts, salwar-kameej and apparels increased as customers from all walks of live were thronging the market.
Talking to the FE, some Eid shoppers expressed their satisfaction with various newly arrived readymade locally manufactured clothes showcased for sale.
"We are getting quality products made by the local manufacturers though prices are high," Aminur Rahman, an enthusiastic buyer said.
Regarding the law and order situation, bother the sellers and the buyers, however, expressed their satisfaction saying Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) have stepped up street patrols and intelligence activities to ensure security for Eid shoppers in the capital.
According to sources, to maintain law and order, the RAB deployed over 2,000 of its personnel in the metropolitan area and another 5,000 across the country, while DMP deployed 4,000 of its personnel including 25 intelligence teams and 171 Orange Teams which have been patrolling the city streets round the clock.