Spirits down as Eid shoppers stay off Batla House

The last week of Ramzan is usually the most awaited time of the year for shopowners in Batla House.

The last week of Ramzan is usually the most awaited time of the year for shopowners in Batla House. This year, though, is different: business is down, as is the festive spirit, as Jamia Nagar area still struggles to recover the shock of the September 13 shootout that left two alleged militants and a police inspector dead.

Ahmed Husain, owner of Maulana Cloth House that has been selling salwar suits and white kurtas for men for the past four decades, says sales on an average shot up six times till last year8217;s Ramzan. But it8217;s down by 50 per cent after the encounter this year. 8220;We sold 1 lakh kurtas last year; we have managed just 50,000 till date this time.8221;

Pointing at the thin crowd outside, he says, 8220;In the week before Eid usually there8217;s hardly any space to walk here. But the crowd is much thinner this time around.8221;

Shakeel Ahmed, a Tilokri-based garment exporter who puts up a stall for kidswear at Batla House says daily business is down from last year8217;s Rs 12,000 to Rs 5,000 after the encounter. 8220;Last year I made a daily profit of Rs 200 and that went up to Rs 1,000 in the last week,8221; he says. 8220;After the encounter this month, I have made no profit.8221;

Shopkeepers blame the post-encounter slackness on three reasons: first, Muslims who usually came from other areas such as New Friends Colony, Sangam Vihar and even Noida and Faridabad are avoiding the area this time.

Second, many locals are going to the nearby Lajpat Nagar market.

Third, people are giving late-night shopping a miss 8212; post-encounter. They are not shopping till early hours, say local shopowners.

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Mohammed Rashid, who owns the popular Lucknow Chikan House, says he downs shutters at midnight 8212; unusual, he reiterates, at this time of the year. He kept the shop open till 4 am in the initial period of Ramzan, 8220;but two days after the encounter, we had shut shop at 10 pm, as there was no customer.8221;

The fear factor, he says, has 8220;faded8221; a bit but 8220;it is still there8221;. Many storeowners claim the fall is steeper in menswear. Mohammed Faisal, owner of Shopper Point, says he has not been able to sell even 10 per cent of the Ramzan stock of men8217;s footwear, while he has sold 50 per cent of ladies8217; footwear. 8220;Men fear they can be picked up if they are out in the night,8221; Faisal says.