High prices have held back the poor and low-income group people from going even to the footpath shops to do their buying for Eid celebration.
RMG workers, auto-rickshaw drivers, bus drivers, domestic helps and rickshaw-pullers have vented their frustration saying the increased prices of clothes, shoes and other items are hitting them hard.
Bijlee Akhtar, a garment worker from Lalbag who came to roadside shops at Gulistan, said the shops were charging much more for all items compared to the previous year.
‘I have to spend more going beyond my shopping budget,’ she said.
Sabina Begum, another garment worker, said she did not come to buy things but just to look around the market as she was yet to get her salary.
Belal Hossain, a rickshaw-puller, who came to the footpath shops at Gulistan, said, ‘Footpath is the only shopping place for people like us, as we do not have adequate money for shopping in luxury shopping centres.’
‘But it is getting tough for us to buy necessary goods even from the footpath shops, as prices of all products at these shops have increased much in the recent time,’ he added.
Sona Mia, an auto-rickshaw driver, said he gone around the roadside shops at Khilgaon and observed that the price of all products had been exorbitant for him.
Shahnur, who works as a domestic help in two houses at Banani, said her employers gave her two saris.
She said, ‘The employers seldom pay us in cash during Eid.’
Rana, a transport worker, said he earns Tk 300 a day for which he has to work from dawn to midnight every day.
‘We get no bonus. But some passengers pay us an extra amount some times but we get only portion of it, which is rather a small amount,’ he said.
Meanwhile, many footpath shop-owners said thousands of shoppers were just coming to look around the market but they were not buying things as the cost of all items had increased this year.
They said that if the volume of sale would increase, the shop-owners could reduce prices of all products.   
‘Our business is not going very well, as we are receiving a small number of buyers this Eid,’ said Alamgir Hossain, a seller of cloths for ladies and babies at Gulistan roadside market.
‘This time my turnover is only Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 per day while I earned Tk 18,000 to Tk 20,000 last year during the Eid time’, said Alamgir.
Jahurul Haque, a low-priced shoe-seller at Mirpur-1 footpath market, said he was getting a few number of customers presently.
Sumon, an imitation ornaments seller on the footpath of Mirpur-1, said his sale was steady.
‘Generally I could sell products amounting to around Tk 8,000 per day, but now my sale amounts to only Tk 5,000 a day.’
He said the sale of ornament items would increase after Ramadan 25. At that time women usually buy only ornament to match their dresses.
Rabiul Islam, a mini outlet owner selling male children’s items at Gulitan, said the price of jeans pants had increased by nearly Tk 100 per piece and that of shirt by Tk 30 per piece.