Under the colourful blue and orange canopies, bright festive lighting and smiling faces on the streets of Charminar, there is a gloom of economic downturn. There are no buyers despite the buzzing streets and the milling throngs of people on the streets which are difficult to walk after 5 p.m.
“The last 10 days is the peak time for Ramzan shopping. Look at me. Not a single customer,” says Muhammad Masahed showing his heaps of bedsheets near Murgi Chowk area.
While some of the shopkeepers blame the lingering effects of demonetisation, others blame evening rains for the downturn in sales. “I have to cover my goods every 15 minutes and wait for customers. Even before a customer walks in, there is rain and again I have to cover all the shoes and sandals,” says Md Basith, who has a makeshift wooden stand piled high with glittering sandals and slippers for women.
Besides the annual exhibition Numaish , Ramzan shopping is one of the to-do things in the list for Hyderabadis. Shoppers make a beeline to the area for buying clothes, shoes, bedsheets, crockery, gift items besides indulging in exotic Ramzan savouries. “The range that is there is not available at other times because of the huge number of shoppers who turn up during this season. The prices are also low due to competition. But this year, owing to demonetisation, people don’t have enough money to buy,” says Mr. Masahed, who also runs a hotel.
Abdul Qayuum and his workers have come from Lucknow to sell kurtas and pyjamas with chikan work and have set up a stall near Shahalibanda. The gang waits for shoppers who are just not there. “I come here every year. We used to do good business in the final days of Ramzan, but this year it is different. People are not even stopping to look around and buy. I don’t know why,” says Mr. Qayuum.
“A large number of people are definitely coming to this area, but they are not shopping. They are not buying. They are wandering around taking selfies, but nobody is spending any money here,” says Mujeeb, who has a bangles outlet at Laad Bazaar.
Shruti Shah and her gang of four girls preen and pout for selfies near the shop selling danglers, bracelets and necklaces. “We came here to soak in the atmosphere. One can walk freely and the choice is amazing. Of course we are here to buy,” says Ms. Shah.
“I am done with my Ramzan shopping. I gave my wife ₹8,000 and told her to buy clothes and shoes for everyone in the family. I am keeping aside another thousand for the Eid,” says Ahmed Bin Omer, who brought his family from Golconda for the shopping expedition.
But with shoppers not loosening their purse strings, it remains to be seen how the Ramzan festivities pan out for the businessmen in the city.
