Business activities drop by 80pc in

Saturday, November 28, 2009

By Riaz Khan Daudzai
PESHAWAR: The traders of the NWFP in general and those of the provincial metropolis in particular have paid the highest price on Eid for the ongoing militancy, price-hike and scare in the wake of terror acts that rocked the city and scattered places elsewhere in the province in succession over the last two months.
During a survey just a day ahead of Eidul Azha, it was found that the overall business activities fell by 70 per cent while the fashion houses, both in the downtown city and cantonment and those at the posh University Road, Tehkal, Abdarra Road, lost their 80 per cent business to the militancy that scared off shoppers as security threats continued to grip every bazaar of the provincial capital for last three months.

Four powerful blasts shattered the major business centres of the provincial metropolis, including Khyber Bazaar, Chiri Koban Meena Bazaar, Khyber Bazaar and cantonment, during the last two months that inflicted around Rs1 billion losses on the traders and common people.
Major fashion houses continued to pass through the lean period of their business history as the major outlets like Imperial, Wadoosd’s Sons, Day to Day, Shah Posh, Joly, R-Sheen and Surkhab (just to mention a few) faced a 30 per cent slump, while the fashion houses like Novelty Store, which were once hot spots for fashion enthusiasts, remained closed on Friday, just a day before Eid.
Malik Mehar Ilahi, general secretary of the Action Committee of Tajiran, a conglomerate of six trade bodies formed after the militancy hit the business centres, also blamed the government partially for the poor business activities.