Masses throng markets to finalise Eid shopping
islamabad — Eid shopping in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad has reached its peak as all major markets witnessed a rush of general public busy in last minute shopping as Eid Al Fitr is only hours away.
Ghulam Ahmed, a shopkeeper at Centaurus Mall, said as compared to the past this year people preferred trendy and branded items. “In the past we did not witness buying of expensive clothes by the general public but this year we saw a surge in sale of branded items.
Meanwhile, many women complained of fake and low quality skin creams and beauty products including henna (mehandi). Most of these products are locally made without any quality check, they said and asked the authorities to take action against manufacturers of these products.
The women pointed out the fact that these products were also dangerous as they could cause skin diseases as many of them were made with chemicals.
A medical expert said it has been observed in the past few years that many women developed serious skin allergies and infections after they used substandard henna after applying it on their hands.
He regretted the fact that most of the markets of twin cities were involved in selling the so-called instant mehandi which is made of synthetic chemicals and artificial colours instead of henna powder.
“It is extremely injurious to health as it first develops allergic affects on the skin followed by infection resulting into serious skin complications,” he said.
Taking advantage of heavy rush of Eid passengers, transporters have illegally increased fares and started charging exorbitant amount from the people who want to go to their hometowns to spend Eid with their families.
Rashid Naeem, a passenger, said he always preferred to visit his family in Lahore for Eid. He complained that private transporters hiked their fares and if somebody objected they started misbehaving.
Transporters charged hundreds of rupees extra and when we argued about it, they misbehaved, said a female passenger Javeria Ali.
Another passenger Ikramullah said transporters, in connivance with local authorities, were taking full advantage of the occasion of Eid by demanding extra money.
Inflated fares and overcharging on all inter-city routes has spoiled the Eid plans of hundreds of lowpaid workers and students who wished to spend the happy occasion with their families in their hometowns.— APP