Ahead of Eid, bad weather dampens shopping buzz for the second day

Srinagar, Apr 19 : The festive rush was again dampened by the sporadic rain on Wednesday, preventing shoppers from thronging the market for the second day in a row.

In Srinagar, many shopkeepers told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that rain forced the people to stay indoors for the second day, while they witnessed bleak customer footfall.

“With improvement in the weather last evening, we were hopeful of dry weather, but a restart of rainfall since dawn again played a spoilsport for the whole day as we witnessed very few customers,” said a shopkeeper in Lal Chowk.

Many bakery shop owners said that they erect temporary tents a few days before Eid-ul-Fitr to display their bakery stock for sale; however, this time they couldn’t do it due to continuous rain.

Street vendors said they were also struggling to make any good sales due to rainfall. “Our items remain wrapped in polythene since morning,” a vendor said.

While similar reports of sparse shopping have been received from other parts of the valley, the shopkeepers are optimistic about the pleasant weather on Thursday.

Days before Eid-ul-Fitr, people’s rush for shopping is witnessed with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Chief Engineer Irrigation and Flood Control Department, Er Naresh Kumar said that there was not any imminent flood threat and that the gauges are well below the danger level mark.

Officials at J&K’s weather department have forecast intermittent light to moderate rain at scattered places on April 20 to 22; however, from April 23 to 25, they have predicted mainly dry weather.