People stay indoors, shops wear deserted look on eve of Eid amid lockdown

The festive atmosphere was missing on the eve of Eid in the national capital on Sunday as people preferred to stay at their homes to offer namaz and most shops wore a deserted due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated across the country on Monday.

The old city areas, which are usually crowded during Ramzan as people go for shopping to buy new clothes for the festival, wore a deserted look.

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With religious places shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been advised by Shahi Imams of Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid to stay indoors and offer Eid namaz at their homes.

Mohammad Mohsin, a footwear trader in Ballimaran, said, "You cannot imagine celebrating Eid without participating in Eid namaz at a mosque. Besides, people also don't have money due to paralysed commercial and business activities in the past two months."

With coronavirus cases increasing in the city, people have been staying at their homes and observing social distancing norms by avoiding crowded places.

"Main markets, where it would be difficult to move during normal days, more so on the occasion of Eid, are deserted. Shops are not opening because the entire supply chain has been disrupted in the country and also because people do not have money to spend," Akram Qureshi, president of Bazar Matia Mahal Traders Association, said.

However, some people in inner parts and narrow bylanes of the old city areas of Matia Mahal, Chandni Chowk, Ballimaran visited shops to buy food items and new clothes for their children to celebrate Eid.

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In Shaheen Bagh, which was a protest venue for a section of people opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) earlier this year, a few shops were open as per the guidelines of the Delhi government in view of the lockdown.

Similarly, in areas such as Jamia Nagar and Batla House, only a few shops were opened and less activity was witnessed in markets on the eve of Eid.

"We have decided to spend less on this Eid and help the needy and poor hit by the pandemic and the lockdown," Jamia Nagar-based social activist Muslim Mohammad said.