Roads and shopping lanes across Srinagar and several Kashmir districts stayed crowded on Wednesday as families rushed to buy for Eid, with major markets wearing a festive look from Lal Chowk to Jamia Market. Shopkeepers kept businesses open longer than usual to handle the surge, and the busiest stretches remained packed through the day, even after intermittent rain in the afternoon.
At Jamia Masjid and Pather Masjid, the historic markets drew heavy footfall to shops selling traditional wear, spices, bakery products, perfumes and prayer essentials. Mehendi stalls and beauty parlours also saw brisk activity as women and young girls made final preparations for the festival, while similar scenes were reported from Baramulla, Kupwara, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian, Bandipora, Budgam and Ganderbal.
Yet the festival rush did not translate into the kind of business traders had hoped for. Javid Ahmad said shoppers were coming in, but spending carefully. “People are visiting markets, but spending very cautiously. Most families are buying only essentials because prices have gone up sharply,” he said. Abdul Rashid said the mood was different from past years. “Earlier, Eid shopping used to continue freely for days. This time customers calculate every expense carefully,” he said.
The caution was most visible at livestock markets, where dealers across the Valley reported poor sales of sacrificial animals. Buyers at makeshift cattle markets in Srinagar, Pulwama, Baramulla and Bandipora bargained hard and many left without buying anything. Aafaq Ahmad said traders were having trouble covering basic costs. “People come, check rates and leave. Traders are struggling to recover transport and feeding costs,” he said.
Bakery owners across Kashmir said the slowdown was also hitting sales of traditional Eid items, adding to signs that this season is weaker than previous years. That shift matters because Eid shopping has long been one of Kashmir’s busiest retail periods, but inflation and financial uncertainty are pushing many households to limit purchases to essentials. For traders from garments to livestock, the question now is not whether the markets will stay busy, but whether the crowds will spend enough to make the season worthwhile.
