Dhaka: Though regular malls are always in the limelight during every Eid, the makeshift shops on footpaths and open spaces in the capital are also doing a brisk business pulling huge customers, both the middle-class and lower middle-class people.

People were seen crowding around the makeshift shops in the city's Panthapath, Farmgate, Gulistan, Bangabazar, Purana Paltan, Motijheel, Fakiraphool, New Market, Nilkhate, Jatrabari, Sadarghat, Mirpur, Malibagh, Mouchak and Rampura areas on Saturday to complete their last-minute shopping.

These makeshift stalls are seen as hotspots for cheap jeans and gabardine pants, shirts, T-shirts, Punjabis, trousers, footwear, belts, caps, lungis, wallets, children clothes, girls' attires, cosmetics and toys.

"You may have a good product at the makeshift shops as they've good stocks of products of numerous colours and designs. When it comes to prices, those are damn cheap sometimes," says a journalist wishing to remain anonymous.

With one day left for the Eid-ul-Fitr, the people with poor budget were seen engaging in huge haggling with the small shop owners before buying the items of their own choice.

Talking to UNB, a number of vendors voiced their satisfaction as they said the volume of sale and profit is higher than previous years.

Many buyers, however, said they are buying their items for the eid festival from the footpath shops as they cannot afford expensive items from the posh shopping malls.

Mahubur Rahman, a Dhaka City College student, said he first visited some stalls at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall to buy a jeans pant, but he could not make it due to excessive price. "The shop owners there were demanding Tk 2,000 to 4,000 for a pant. Later, I came here (a footpath shop near the mall) and bought a jeans and a gabardine pant at Tk 800."

A middle-aged housewife, Jahanara, went to the makeshift shop near Mouchak market, said she bought a Panjabi for her husband at Tk 350 from the roadside shop. "As we've a very poor budget for Eid shopping, we didn't go to any shopping mall to buy our eid dresses."

Saiful Karim, a night guard of a Rampura house, bought a pair of shoes from Gulistan at Tk 400. "I came at the last moment to buy the shoes hoping a slide in prices, and I am happy as I've got it within my budget."

Badsha, a vendor who sells different types of pant items on the footpath near Bashundhara City Shopping Mall, said he made a good profit this time with huge sales of his products. "I've sold 70 pants every day on average from the 10th Ramadan to till date. I bought per pant at Tk 175 and sold at Tk 400 to 450."

"We're witnessing a huge rush of customers and sales are also good," said T-shirt vendor Nizam Uddin in Rampura area.

"We're selling good quality punjabis at a much cheaper price and getting huge response from buyers," Belal who has set up a stall on the footpath in Baitul Mukarram area.

The vendors said though they are making a good profit, they have to pay toll to local political leaders and law-enforcers running their baseness on the footpaths.