The devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir last month have poured cold water over the Eidul Azha celebrations in the Valley as most markets are still busy in cleaning up the trail of destruction left behind by the natural calamity.
With just three days left for Eid, which will be observed in Kashmir on Monday, heaps of garbage are still lying on the roadside in the commercial hub of Lal Chowk and surrounding areas.
"The markets in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley would be bustling with shoppers by this time but this Eid will be without celebrations," Mudasir Ahmad Bhat, a shopkeeper in Lal Chowk, said.
In normal times, shoppers would throng readymade garment shops and bakeries to prepare for the Eid but this time these outlets are in ruins.
"We are still cleaning up the debris inside the shop, although it has been 15 days since water receded in this area.
The whole shop has to be redone and it will take at least a month before we resume the operations," Sajad Hassan, a bakery owner, said.
Even the sacrificial animals - which would go on sale at least 15 days before the Eid - have not arrived in the city and other parts of the valley in numbers as used to be the case before the floods.
"There are few people who coming forward to buy sheep and goat for sacrifice.
We have also reduced our import due to lack of demand," Mohammad Altaf Ganaie, a livestock dealer, said.
Many local residents say they will observe the rituals of Eidul Azha but there will not be any grand celebration.
"First of all, we are still in a state of mourning. The loss of lives, loss of property and the largescale devastation does not leave much scope for celebrations.
"Second, some unscrupulous elements have started profiteering in these testing times," Abdul Rashid Mir, a resident of Sanat Nagar locality in the city, said.
