From screws and nuts to engines, Dholaikhal of Old Dhaka has been the best solution for all kinds of reconditioned motor parts since independence. Business people import the parts from Japan while suppliers provide some.
They say a car has more than 30,000 parts, and there are no car parts that cannot be found on the pavements and in street shops of the area. The most demandable items in this informal market are car engines, headlight, backlight, handle, screw, nut-bolt, looking glass, fog light, master switch, car grill, clutch, gearbox, propeller shaft, axle, brake, battery, and steering, etc.
Parts of any car brands, especially Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Maruti Suzuki, are available. Parts of buses and trucks, including Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, Hino, Volvo, Tata, and Ashok Leyland, can be bought here too.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneMd Ashraf, 65, spent two-thirds of his life in this business on the sidewalks in Dholaikhal. “All reconditioned items are sold on the footpath. These are imported from Japan. You can find all car accessories in any shop. The daily business worth crores of taka,” he said.
“There is no fixed daily profit in this business. Some days, the profit is Tk2,000, and sometimes it is Tk5,000, which can be as high as Tk50,000. But all in all, the monthly income is more than Tk100,000. The bigger the business, the more profit,” he added.
Ashraf explained that syndicates handle the parts business. “You can't get the bottom line by doing such a big business alone. I have five people with me. Many do this business on a small scale and don't import parts as we do. They buy from us,” he explained.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneIf a trader does not have anything demanded by a customer, he will search and collect it from others. Even the sellers on the footpaths have thousands of parts to display.
According to the footpath sellers, they pay the police Tk100 per day and also some to the linemen. Sometimes the local youths demand an amount in various programs.
Mozammel Haque, 46, had worked in a parts shop in Dholaikhal for ten years. “After understanding the business well, I started my own parts business. To run a shop, a trader has to pay Tk15,000-20,000, but Tk5,000-6,000 is enough for a footpath shop. There is an average daily profit of Tk2,000-3,000, sometimes more than double. Alhamdulillah, I am happy with my family,” he said.
Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka TribuneA parts shopkeeper, Saidur Rahman, said that a shop worker in Dholaikhal earns more than Tk1,500 daily. College students also work here.
“Some people may consider this work small and look at it differently. But a day laborer can easily earn Tk30,000-40,000 per month by doing this work. Even the best-paid jobs don't pay that much,” he added.