With the Eid-ul-Fitr coming up, Baburhat Bazar at Shekherchar of Narsingdi, one of the main hubs of local apparel in the country has been seeing an increased flow of buyers.
The market, situated on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway, has become a popular destination for wholesale traders and buyers for the availability of a wide range of home-grown textiles and easy access from major cities like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.
A recent visit to the market found traders stocking up local clothes such as saris, lungis, three-pieces, shirt pieces, punjabi clothes, traditional cotton towels and various fabrics which are being brought from across the country.
There are about 3,000 shops in the market which operates only through Thursday to Sunday. Though the Eid is more than two weeks away, buyers from various parts of the country are already thronging the market to buy sari and lungi for zakaat.
Over the years Narsingdi has become home to a number of garments factories producing local apparel. All those major companies have showrooms in Baburhat. Besides, weavers from Rajshahi, Pabna, Sirajganj and other parts of the country also bring their clothes to Baburhat.
Brisk business worth crores happens from dawn till late into the night. Everyday more than 500 trucks carry clothes to other parts of the country.
Helal Uddin, chairman of Amanat Shah Group, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had introduced a range of new designs for lungi and sari this year. “The business was not that good last year due to political turmoil. So we are hoping to make up for the loss,” he said.
Assistant General Manager of Pakiza Fabrics Collection, Shangkar Saha, said Baburhat has been drawing more buyers because of its comparatively cheaper clothes and better quality.
“Even before the Ramadan began, we went on a full fledged sell. We are almost running out of our collection.”
Proprietor of Bokhari Lungi, Asaduzzaman Asad expressed satisfaction over the business. He said the market was busier than previous years.
Meanwhile, Taleb Hossain, president of Shekherchar-Baburhat Banik Samity, said: “We could not make much profit in the last three Eid because of political upheavel. But it’s good this year. During each weekend, we are selling clothes worth Tk300 to 400 crores.”
He hoped the business would reach its peak in the last week of Ramadan.
