The scene outside a well-known fashion house in Town Hall

Blue Christmas for traders

By Nadia Fazlulhaq Pix by Athula Devapriya

This is the season of joy and shopping, but with the tighter security in urban areas and parking restrictions, the number of seasonal shoppers has decreased on a large scale. Unlike previous years pavement traders selling clothes, Christmas decorations and New Year cards are not to be seen in Colombo while with the growing number of shopping complexes in the suburbs, shoppers coming to Colombo have declined.

Nilantha is a trader selling cloth materials on the pavement in Borella. “There were a lot of pavement sellers in Borella. But after a bomb was found in this area recently security has been tightened. After discussions with the President a few of us were able to set up our stalls but most of the temporary and seasonal traders were not allowed to do so,” he said.

“If the situation in the country improves we can expect good sales during the season before the Sinhala and Hindu New Year,” he said. Even though many shops had ‘sale’ notices, Christmas decorations and discount boards to attract shoppers such shops were not crowded unlike during previous Christmas seasons.

“There may be fewer shoppers this year because the cost of living is very high. I feel this Christmas is very peaceful with no rush of shoppers or overcrowded places,” said Mrs. Gunawardena from Rajagiriya.Parking restrictions are one of the major problems confronting shoppers this year, while many roads have been made one-way leaving motorists confused.

“This time many shoppers coming in vehicles have to face much inconvenience with less parking space than before, so shopping has become a dreadful experience,” said Mr. Zubair who found it difficult to find parking space in front of a shopping mall, for his vehicle.

Shenali (27) from Kiribathgoda was on her way to purchase clothes for Christmas. “When we were kids our parents brought us to Colombo to buy things for Christmas but now I believe there are many good shops on the outskirts of Colombo. Especially in places like Kiribathgoda and Maharagama there are more pavement shops where we can buy decorations for a reasonable price and even the shopping complexes there offer clothes at cheaper prices,” she said.

Today most people fear to shop freely in some well-known shopping complexes which are situated in high security zones with numerous checkpoints and parking limitations.