HYDERABAD:Growing inflation has not only affected the upper and middle class; it has also created distress and brought misery to the poor strata of society who are even unable to buy old and used warm clothes.
Priorly, Lunda Bazaar was called “Heaven for the poor” and the center of attraction for the downtrodden masses, especially in the winter season.
The Hyderabad cloth Market Lunda bazaar is considered to be a big market that always sees hustle and bustle and people from the poor and lower middle classes visit to meet their needs in the winter season. It particularly diverts the attention of the masses in the winter lace-up coats, jackets, soaks, warm caps, and others.
But now, with skyrocketing prices, it also has affected the middle and lower-middle class pushing them from their once popular shopping place in the city.
Tahir a resident of Latifabad has been a permanent visitor of Lunda Bazar to purchase warm clothes for the winter season for his entire family for years. But this year, he is worried d
ue to rising profiteering and inflation surfacing in the bazaar.
“This time sweater of Rs 300 is being sold for Rs 600 to 800 (approx) which is out of my reach,” he said, adding what we can do as when we reached here after spending increased transport fares, we came across everything at higher rates.
There was a time when people of lower income were diverted to the Lunda bazaar to meet their financial crisis, but now this stuff was fast slipping away from the reach of commoners.
Samreen Ali another visitor, complained that the difference between the original prices of new commodities and prices of lunda bazaar have shrunken that the consumers feel it’s better to visit shopping malls in Hyderabad instead of approaching lunda bazaar.
On the other hand, the vendors and shopkeepers of the Lunda bazaar are also unhappy as they complain of squeezing up their business activities. They are attributed to different reasons for inflation including increased customs duties and the price of the dollar.
“Shopkeepers h
ave increased rates of commodities in compulsion, but the real thing is that the government should focus on decreasing the prices of edible food items including vegetables, oil, wheat, and fruits”, said Asim Amin, a shopkeeper of Lunda bazaar while commenting on the situation.