Shop owners at Old Souq lament over poor sales

Manama

The traders of Old Souq Manama are having a hard time with the shops witnessing dull sales during this Eid Al Adha, one of the two busiest seasons in the year.

The traders claimed that the recently concluded Eid was the worst in regards to sale. Speaking to DT News, owner of Marsim, the biggest store in Old Souq, Abdul Karim Al Fulaij said Eids used to be golden opportunities for traders to secure their annual earnings. “But unfortunately, sales during both the Eids of this year, Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha were very dull. There were no customers during the holidays and we went through a hard time,” he said. 

He added they have been trying to get the attention of the concerned authorities regarding the deteriorating sales in the Old Souq, which has a significant role in Bahrain’s cultural history. The traders expressed hope that the government might announce some package plans for them. They also complained about the lack of interest by the Economic Development Board (EDB) in their matters. 

Another trader, Ali Majid said they were getting hopeless about the business conditions at the Souq. 

He said that they were very upset over traffic police issuing tickets to customers on the second day of Eid. According to the traffic laws, parking is free during Fridays and holidays in the area. He said, however, when they brought the matter to the notice of police station officials they were told that it was done by mistake. “The authorities must make sure that it will not happen again,” he demanded.         

Another businessman of the area told on the condition of anonymity that there was no business on Eid. He said he has been doing business for the last 25 years but now things are getting worse and the hike in LMRA fees have added to the woes.