From toys to imitation jewellery, movement curb hurts Chawkbazar fancy traders

Sales of fancy products in Dhaka's Chawkbazar have been sluggish even before Eid as traders from different parts of the country cannot come to the wholesale hub because of the ongoing pandemic-led movement restrictions.

Businessmen at Chawkbazar said even small traders from different areas of the capital could not come to the market because of the lockdown, let alone traders from other districts.

Saiful Islam, owner of an artificial jewellery – locally called imitation jewellery – shop on Chawk Circular Road, said the fancy products they sell are meant for the low-income people in rural Bangladesh and district-level buyers are their main customers.

During the movement curbs, Saiful said he sent some products to customers by courier. But customers enjoy browsing through and bargaining before buying anything.

They do not rely on online purchase or courier delivery.

"Anyone can understand how the business is," said Saiful, adding, "I could not pay the house rent for the last two months. If I have to worry about the house rent now – a time for Eid sales – survival for the rest of the year will then be the greatest concern."

Khulna-based businessman Sajjadul Islam buys products in bulk from Chawkbazar and sells those online. He said as he collects items from the capital on his own, he

can offer comparatively lower rates to his customers.
"These fancy items require a lot of checking firsthand and verifying market rates. Otherwise, there are chances to get cheated," Sajjad told The Business Standard over the phone. He could not come to Dhaka and collect products for the upcoming Eid because of the inter-district transport ban.

All traders in areas around Chawkbazar's Urdu Road, Shahi Mosque, Water Works and Chawk Circular Road said business is as dull as it was during last year's shutdown. Wholesale shops had few buyers for imitation jewellery, henna, bangles, bags, locks, toothbrushes, soap, cotton buds, clips and other products.

Aziz Ahmed, who came from Dhaka's Keraniganj to Chawkbazar to buy cosmetics items for his shop, said the demand for cosmetics goes high outside Dhaka before Eids. Several traders in his area also buy products from him.

Photo: Salahuddin Ahmed

But, this time the demand is low. His profits will also be less as the transport cost is higher.

Nazrul Islam, a businessman from Sylhet, said he is not a regular customer at Chawkbazar. He used to collect products when he came to the capital – especially before Eid and puja.

"Those items had great demand here. But as transports are closed now, there are no such scopes for this Eid," he told TBS over the phone.

Toy shops are also almost deserted with the customers few and far. Traders said as there are no Eid-centric fair or makeshift markets, sales are sluggish.

Mohsin Ali, a toy seller at Chawkbazar's Yakub Market, said toy sales usually surge before Eid, puja and Pahela Baishakh.

"But there has been no fair this year and makeshift markets are also not there. Eid sales are also dull. Overall, we do not have one-fifth of the normal time sales now," he added.

"If it were any normal Ramadan, I would not have time to talk to you now," he quipped.

Arafat Hossain, a businessman from Shyamnagar in Satkhira, told TBS over the phone that he used to come to Dhaka before Eid and buy goods for his three shops. He also used to sell to local vendors. This time his own shop is empty as he could not stock up.

Asked how business is, Chawkbazar footwear trader Nur Mohammad said, "This year too has been bad for business. We had Baishakh and almost this Eid without the sales gaining momentum. If this continues, there will be no way out except to leave the business. If you do other jobs, you might be able to manage three meals a day."

Not for profit, Chawkbazar traders said they have still kept shops open this Ramadan for survival. They said they want to vacate the warehouses by selling the stocked items.