Inflation-hit people throng secondhand shops in Swat.

SWAT -- A large number of people thronged flea markets in Mingora here to buy warm clothes and shoes amid intense cold and rising inflation.

Every Friday, the Main Bazaar, Taj Chowk, Madyan Road and Gwaro Market become centres of old and used items, including clothes, jackets, shoes and other daily use items, where thousands of people come to buy items of their requirement at 'affordable' rates.

Normally, middle-income groups visited such markets in the past, but now people from well-off families also visit them as they are also hit hard by inflation.

'Every winter when weather gets extremely cold, people, usually the poor and middle-class groups, turn to Friday bazaars to purchase used garments and shoes. I also visited the flea market to buy jackets, socks and shoes for my family as prices are still affordable in these second-hand markets,' Naeemullah, a resident of Charbagh, said. However, he said prices of used items were also rising as a used jacket was available from Rs1,000 to Rs1,500 compared to its earlier price of Rs300 to Rs500.

'Every item in the flea market is much...