Traders, visitors complain of mismanagement at the DITF

Allegations of mismanagement have been leveled at this year’s Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), with traders complaining they have had to pay extra cash at the entry gates to bring in stock. According to DITF rules, any trader with an entry-pass will not have to pay extra money in order to bring their products inside the fair. But despite the rule, a fair number of traders had to buy extra tickets, without which their entry would have been restricted. Feat Fair Shoes manager Didar Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune that he had to suffer losses at his business because of the mismanagement at the gates. Every time any of his employees would try to enter, the guards would ask him to buy 15-20 tickets regardless of the entry pass. Each of the tickets are priced at Tk30; ultimately, a total of Tk500-600 would be charged. This led to the losses, said Didar. However, allegedly, traders affiliated with the ruling Awami League would either be charged half the price of the tickets or exempted of it altogether. In that case, the administration and law enforcements would just turn a blind eye. The traders lamented about this to this correspondent at the DITF on Saturday, adding that these issues had increased during the later days of the trade fair. Mohammad Shohag, an employee of M/S the Moari stall, said that a number of staff had to stay inside the stalls overnight during the fair. They used to bring food from their home. Even when bringing these food items inside the premise of DITF, they had to pay for 10-15 tickets which would amount to a total of Tk300-400. Drinking water was hard to find as there would be no functional water filters after 11 pm at the venue. Meanwhile, visitors at the DITF had plenty of complaints as well, including the insufficiency of good bathrooms, dirty environment, and an abundance of street hawkers, among others. Because of the lack of an adequate water sprinkler system, the roads inside the fair were dusty in the dry season. Visitors had to walk wearing a mask on their faces. Visitors have also complained about the improperly cleaned toilets, causing problems for people who came for a day-long visit. There was also a lack of proper sitting arrangements. The elderly and children faced distress after lengthy walks through the fair. Some sellers said that even though there were several government organizations at work to maintain a proper environment inside the trade fair, they were not doing their job responsibly. When asked about the complaints of mismanagement, DITF’s Member Secretary Abdur Rouf told the Dhaka Tribune that their officers regularly monitored the trade fair and received complaints. Action was taken accordingly, he said.