Inflation mars Eid festivities for the poor

People belonging to the lower and lower-middle class of the country have thronged to Landa Bazaars to buy second hand clothes for themselves and their families to get the feeling of buying and wearing new clothes during the Eidul Fitr celebrations, as they can not afford brand new clothes due to high prices. Used dresses are not less than a blessing for the poor people of the country, as they earn very little income.
The shopkeepers of the used dresses told that this year customers were visiting the market to buy used dresses more than ever due to affordable prices. Naila, 56, a buyer of used dresses at Raja Bazaar, told Pakistan Today that she had come to the market to buy clothes for herself as well as for her grandsons. “Now it is not possible for us to buy new clothes so we just rely on second hand dresses,” she said.
She said one dress was available for Rs 60 to Rs150, whereas the prices of new dresses were more than Rs 1,000 per dress. Another buyer Waqas said he belongs to a poor family and earns very little income to make ends meet. He said used dresses’ prices were affordable for him to celebrate the Eid festival. He added that he also bought clothes for his family members, and he could not afford to buy new ones for them. Waqas said this year the shopkeepers had increased the prices of used dresses compared to previous year.
He asked the government to control the high rate of inflation, as the poor of the country were unable to buy the bare necessities of life. A vendor, Ajmal, who was selling used dresses at Saddar Bazaar told Pakistan Today that the poor, as well as middle class people visited the market to buy clothes for themselves and their families. He denied the fact that the prices of the used dresses were high. He said as compared to the increase in the prices of other commodities, the prices of used dresses had increased little.
Altaf, a government employ, told Pakistan Today, that he received a salary of Rs 7,000, whereas he had a family of six. He added that due to the high prices of new clothes, he was unable to buy them He said his children always ask him to buy clothes for them so that they had new clothes on Eid. He said he had come to the market to buy some second hand dresses for himself and his family.