People stay indoors, shops wear deserted look on eve of Eid amid lockdown

The festive atmosphere was missing on the eve of Eid in the national capital on Sunday as people preferred to stay at their homes to offer namaz and most shops wore a deserted due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated across the country on Monday.

The old city areas, which are usually crowded during Ramzan as people go for shopping to buy new clothes for the festival, wore a deserted look.

With religious places shut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been advised by Shahi Imams of Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid to stay indoors and offer Eid namaz at their homes.

Mohammad Mohsin, a footwear trader in Ballimaran, said, "You cannot imagine celebrating Eid without participating in Eid namaz at a mosque. Besides, people also don't have money due to paralysed commercial and business activities in the past two months."