SAMBRIAL - The industry and tradition of EID cards are taking their last breaths as common usage of cell phone, SMSs and Internet has promoted E-cards culture. As all these electronic means of communication are cheaper and time-saving, the general public is not interested in visiting markets to purchase Eid cards. Most of the shopkeepers in Sambrial opined that there was a significant reduction in sales that has gone below 80 percent as compared to the previous year. However, with the development of science and technology, as it was observed during a survey conducted by TheNation, the use of E-cards among the youth has decreased the popularity of these greeting cards. But the mobile phones and SMS can never carry the same sentiments and feelings as greeting cards do. The shopkeepers of Main Bazaar of Sambrial said that Eid card industry was confronting a huge downfall in the last couple of years. They said the SMS packages and price-hike in basic commodities were the main cause of nominal sale of cards. It takes almost 150 rupees to send a simple greeting card to your beloved ones. Trend of sending Eid cards has almost come to an end now, another shopkeeper said. A trader of Modal Town Market said that he opened his stall daily from 10 am to 12 am but his sales of Eid cards was less than a Rs1,000. Interestingly, on asking which type of cards fetch you most sales, the shopkeeper said that Valentines Day cards are the most popular ones these days. Three days sale of Valentines Day cards earn us more profit than we earn in 30 days of selling Eid cards, he added. Its easy. Go to any Eid card site, download the card of your choice and send it to your friend M Sohail Asghar who runs a highly-surgical factory said. Sohail said he was too busy to find time to go shopping for Eid cards in the market. He just asks his secretary who will send it to his friends after his approval. But these internet cards can never replace the conventional Eid cards. When you buy a card and send it to someone it means that you really care for that person, Mrs Maimoona who runs a boutique in Baddoke Cheema . I would never send an E-card to some one I care for. It would not convey my real feelings. There are now a few customers in the main market, unlike in the past, looking for cards specially made for the 'heart broken or those with film stars pictures, he said with a smile. Perhaps they have now better choice on the internet, he added.