Gold jewellery businesses at Tanti Bazaar in the old part of Dhaka are going through bad times due to soaring prices of gold coupled with illegal businesses conducted by unscrupulous traders.
Jewellers of Tanti bazaar said their sale has slumped as the price of gold had gone up.
They also blamed unscrupulous gold traders, who illegally import gold from abroad, for their slow businesses.
The jewellers of Tanti Bazar supply gold-made ornaments to jewellery shops all around the capital as well as to different districts of the country.
"As the order for gold ornaments from across the country has halved, many jewellery shops at Tanti Bazar have been closed, resulting in a large number of goldsmiths getting unemployed," one of them said.
There are over 350 gold shops and factories at Tanti Bazar. Most of which have been run by goldsmiths of the Hindu community since the market was built during the 18th century.
Dinesh Chandra Paul, general secretary of Dhaka Sharna Shilpi Shramik Shangha, said, "We are now going through a difficult time, as the demand for gold jewellery dropped due to its high price."
"Moreover, dishonest traders are importing gold-made ornaments from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India and other countries through illegal means and threatening the jewellery business in the old part of the capital," he said.
Dinesh blamed the government for taking no steps to stop illegal gold businesses in the country.
Gold ornaments are highly favoured by Bangladeshi women, but now they opt for cheaper gold-plated imitation ornaments and stone-made ornaments because of the increased price.
Amal Karmarar, a goldsmith of Tanti Bazaar, said, "We are really worried about our future."
Another goldsmith Nipen Paul of the same area echoed Amal saying that more and more goldsmiths are switching to other professions.
Besides, most of the ornaments are now being made by hi-tech factories. The goldsmiths expressed disappointment over their future prospect in this profession at the advent of auto-machine technology.
Dinesh Chandra, however, was in disagreement with the claim: "I think auto-machines are not a threat for goldsmiths. They produce only 20% of the ornaments while the rest 80% is done by goldsmiths."
Jewellers' Samity leader Dinesh suggested that the government should formulate a national gold policy to help the jewellery business cope with present challenges and to make it a major export oriented sector.