Baburhat traders have a big smile

Trucks stand in a long queue on the roadside of Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Narsingdi. Large bundles of cloths are being loaded and offloaded from the trucks while several hundred apparel traders crowded the adjacent alleys and passages. Several vans are waiting in front of each of the markets to load cloths.
It has now been an everyday’s picture of Narsingdi’s Shekherchar-Baburhat market of local textile products with the Muslims’ biggest festival Eid-ul Fitr nearing fast.
Though the market usually operates three days a week from Thursday to Saturday, it is now operating round the week on the occasion of Eid.  
The traders in the market, which is considered the hub of home-grown textiles in the country, said unlike every year, not any item from India or China, rather Bangladeshi three-piece Kiranmala has been the number one choice of customers this time. The item is witnessing a good sale due to relatively lower price.
All types of home-grown textile items ranging from sari, lungi, three-piece, pant-piece, punjabi-piece, to bed-sheets and traditional cotton towel are available in about 10,000 shops here.
The traders are happy as they are making brisk business ahead of Eid.
Several thousand industries including textile mills, dying and embroidery houses were set up across Narsingdi centring on the Baburhat wholesale textile market.
Some five lakh people are involved in these industries.
The market has become a popular destination for wholesale traders and buyers for the availability of a wide range of home-grown textiles and easy communications with major cities like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.
Talking to this correspondent at the market, a cloth trader from Habiganj said the traders like him come to the market from different parts of the country as all types of textile items are available at a low price and the communication is good.
“The most important feature is that no trader is required to pay any taxes or levies here,” he added.
Pakija Fabrics Collection sales centre manager Shankar Saha at the market told Prothom Alo, “Sari, lungi, three-piece are of high demand this time. But the most popular item is Kiranmala, a three-piece brand.”