• Citizens rush to different markets of Karachi on the last day of Eid shopping.
• The govt has imposed strict restrictions from May 8 to 16, including suspension of inter-city transport and closure of tourist spots.
  
• However, the traders have criticised the decision and demanded more time to operate.
  

KARACHI: Citizens rushed to different markets of Karachi while the vehicular traffic situation worsened in different parts of the city on the last day of Eid shopping, The News reported on Sunday.

The provincial government had allowed all businesses and shopping centres across Sindh to remain open on Friday and Saturday from 6am to 6pm on the two days.

However, the traders criticised the decision and demanded more time to operate.

The government had announced public holidays on account of Eidul Fitr from May 10 to 15. It also imposed strict restrictions from May 8 to 16, including suspension of inter-city transport and closure of tourist spots.

Streets choked with traffic

Due to a shorter shopping window, the Saddar market was choked with traffic until 6pm on Saturday while people visited different shops and markets to complete their Eid shopping.

Vehicles on Zaibunnisa Street were stuck in gridlock for a long time due to shoppers in cars and on foot.

Traffic at Lucky Star, the old city area, and around the provincial assembly was moving at a snail’s pace. A massive rush of shoppers and vehicular traffic was also observed around Saddar’s mobile and electronics markets.

In different markets and shopping centres of Saddar, shoppers were seen entering in the form of queues and exiting in a similar fashion.

Inside the city’s mega-malls, wearing masks was mandatory and other Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) were also complied with.

Sops ignored at some markets

At other markets, however, the SOPs were ignored completely. Shopkeepers and shoppers at the Zainab Market, in Hyderi and Liaquatabad, and in Karimabad’s Meena Bazaar were not even wearing masks.

Many shopping centres in the city opened at around 6am on Saturday. Thousands of buyers reached early in the morning because the malls were supposed to be closed by 6pm.

In the commercial areas of Bahadurabad and Tariq Road, severe traffic jams occurred and shoppers, as well as shopkeepers, were observed to be without masks, while markets were crammed full of people, who were walking shoulder to shoulder.

According to the traffic awareness and social media unit of the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) traffic, due to a large number of visitors, traffic movement was extremely slow at Gul Plaza, MA Jinnah Road, Jama Cloth, Denso Hall, Empress Market, Bolton Market, Tariq Road, Jauhar Morr, Hyderi and in other areas.