Ramadan shopping reaches feverish pitch as Eid nears

August 27, 2011

Mangalore, August 27: A report in the CNN-IBN website about Hyderabad reveals that to facilitate shopping on the eve of Ramadan, city police had blocked the road from Madina to Charminar till September 1.

The crowd, though not as heavy as found in Hyderabad, has its presence felt in the city of Mangalore too. As you walk in any part of the city you will come across enthusiastic and tired faces walking across hurriedly, eager to buy the new set of clothes for Eid. Burkha-clad women, whose numbers increase steadily from the first day of Ramadan to the last; brave the sun and the rains, moving from shop to shop, probing for clothes that would make them look best on the day of the feast. And men are not left far behind too.

Ramadan is the month when Muslims fast from morning (Subah) till evening (Magrib) in hope of self-purification and restraint. The word Ramadan comes from the Arabic root word for parched thirst and sun-baked ground. It is expressive of the hunger and thirst felt by those who spend the month in fasting. As opposed to other holidays, when people often indulge, Ramadan is by nature a time of sacrifice. The annual fast of Ramadan is considered one of the five "pillars" of Islam.

Shopping is another colourful aspect of this festival. Over the years even businessmen have understood the “significance” of this festival from a business perspective. People will be constantly educated to the offers and discounts given especially in the month of Ramadan. There is great encouragement from everyone to buy.

Shirts, pants, skullcaps, shoes, and a long list of women's wear along with a long list of essential and fashionable clothes line up in cloth stores, which draw the crowds in their hundreds and thousands. Even small towns across the district do brisk business during this festive season.

It would not be fair if we restricted the buying behavior in Ramadan to clothes alone. Fruits and fried food enjoy a great market during the month of Ramadan. Kareem, a fruit vendor, visibly tired due to the intense sun and fasting, happily talks about the good business he is having in the month of Ramadan. “Everyone buys fruits to break the fast. If you look around there are more than a 100 vendors just selling fruits. This is the month when we get the best business”, he says. Even though everyone looks tired due to the hectic selling and buying, there is a sense of happiness all over.

Happiness is in the face of people selling fried dishes too. Cutlets, samosas, rolls and other dishes are in great demand. Samosa has become an integral part of the menu of breaking the fast in many homes, says one samosa vendor. He goes on shouting three samosa's for ten rupees, three samosa's for ten rupees….

The city of Mangalore has a lingering sense of joy and cheerfulness during the month of Ramadan. Despite the hurry-burry there are unmistaken signs of anticipation of better days to come in every one of their faces.

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News Network
May 9,2020

Bengaluru, May 9: The bar owners in Karnataka, while welcoming the state government's decision to allow takeaway sales of liquor, said that the move is not going to benefit them much.

Venkatesh Babu, a Bengaluru-based bar owner said, "We welcome this move, our bar was closed for two months due to coronavirus crisis. We have been facing losses since then."

"The state government has told us to sell our stocks at maximum retail price (MRP). It is difficult for us to manage as the rent is high and we also have to pay salaries," he added.

The owner of Pingara Bar and Restaurant, Shivamogga said, "The government has said that is for parcel only and that too at MRP. There is no benefit to our business. We are only clearing the existing stock. They have given us time till May 17 and are not even giving us fresh stock. We are only allowed to sell what we have already."

Karnataka government in its Friday order allowed restaurants, pubs and bars to sell liquor at retail prices from May 9 till May 17, the day the third phase of lockdown is slated to end.

Earlier, the government had allowed the opening of liquor shops in order to mobilise revenue.

However, bars, pubs, restaurants were ordered to remain closed amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: Ramping up efforts to "stamp out" coronavirus cases in the state, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has said that not only lockdown but intense testing of people and tracing of their contacts are also equally important in the fight against the outbreak.

Kerala, which was the first state in the country to report a coronavirus infection in late January, has also prepared a time table for coming out of the lockdown and there would be district-specific strategies to tackle the situation while the number of cases are on the decline.

In efforts to curb spreading of coronavirus infections, the country is under a 21-day lockdown till April 14 and many states have sought an extension amid rising number of cases. Kerala has proposed extending the lockdown and gradual phasing out after proper assessment.

"Lockdown should go on till we stamp out entire infections. Now, it is not enough to have lockdown. Equally important is that we should have intense testing, tracing and isolating (of people with coronavirus infections)," he said in a telephonic interview.

The government is closely monitoring the situation and there would be region-specific or district-specific strategies in place to tackle the outbreak, he said.

Against the backdrop of the lockdown that has also disrupted economic activities, Isaac said an exit strategy is being prepared and restrictions are being relaxed in certain segments, including agriculture.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on April 12

"The number of patients is coming down (in the state). We hope that in the coming days, the decline will be much more faster," he said during the interview late Friday.

On Saturday, the Kerala government said there were a total of 373 confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 228 patients were under treatment in various hospitals in the state.

Keeping the trend in the last few days, the number of people under observation has come down to 1,23,490. So far, 14,613 samples from people with symptoms were sent for testing and the results of 12,818 samples have come negative, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

Indicating that there would be a calibrated exit from the lockdown, Isaac said the withdrawal would depend on three main factors, including the count of cases and the percentage of people who are under observation.

While emphasising that people must also be fed during the lockdown period, Isaac also said a time table is being prepared by the state to come out of the lockdown.

Even as strict measures are being implemented to deal with the current situation, the state is also preparing for a possible third wave of coronavirus cases.

Three students, who had returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, were tested positive. They were also the first such cases, to be reported in January-February period, and have recovered. Wuhan was the epicentre of coronavirus infections before it spread to other countries.

Later, there was a second wave of infections in Kerala.

According to the minister, the possibility of a third wave has also been considered for the exit strategy.

"A lot of Malayalees are expected to come back from outside the state. We will welcome them... before that, we want to stamp out all Covid cases in Kerala. Flatten the curve completely so that when these people from outside, they will be quarantined, they will be tested and only then they will be able to integrate with the rest of the community," he said.

The Kerala government's measures, including extensive testing and efforts to trace people who came in contact with coronavirus-infected persons, have helped in curbing spreading of infections.

The state's public healthcare system has also been appreciated in various quarters.

"People are health conscious. There is a demand for quality healthcare services and the response to this demand has been strengthening of the public healthcare system. We have a robust public healthcare system," the minister emphasised.

On April 9, Isaac tweeted about low level of coronavirus spreading in the state.

"International norm for Covid spread is 2.6 per 1 Covid patient. Total number of primary Covid infected who arrived in Kerala from abroad is 254. The secondary spread has been limited to 91. The international mortality rate is 5.75. With just 2 deaths, rate in Kerala is 0.58," he had tweeted.

Death toll due to the coronavirus increased to 273 and the number of cases to 8,356 in the country on Sunday.

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 3,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 3: General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyatul Ulama, AP Aboobacker Musliyar Kanthapuram, visited the family members of Abdul Jaleel and Nousheen, expressed his condolences.

Jaleel, resident of Bundar Kandak and Nousheen, resident of Kudroli were killed in police firing that took place during the anti-CAA protest in the city on December 19.

Former President of the District Wakf Advisory Committee of Dakshina Kannada SM Rasheed Haji, Corporator Lateef Kandak, Congress leader N S Kareem and Ashraf Kinara, Samsuddin Kudroli were also present. 

DYFI delegation

Meanwhile, a central delegation of the Democratic Youth Federation of India also met the families of the both the victims and expressed solidarity with the kin of the deceased.

The delegation comprised of DYFI national president advocate Mohammad Riyaz, other leaders such as A A Raheem, S Satish, S K Sajeesh, legislator V K Sanoj and DYFI State present Muneer Katipalla.

 

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