The holy month of Ramadan has begun, with the first fast observed on Thursday. From the afternoon onwards, large crowds were seen purchasing iftar items across Old Dhaka.
At Star Hotel & Restaurant, many customers gathered from late afternoon to buy food for iftar. Popular items included grilled chicken and chicken tikka kebabs priced at Tk 260 per half portion, chicken spicy fry at Tk 240 per plate, beef chaap at Tk 1,300, laban at Tk 270 per litre, beef seekh kebab at Tk 140, Doi Bora at Tk 70 per bowl, and pistachio sharbat at Tk 450 per litre. Haleem was being sold at varying prices depending on portion size. Common iftar items such as chickpeas, puffed rice and various drinks were also available.
Mamun, a customer who came to buy iftar, said, “On the first day of Ramadan, I thought I would buy something special for iftar. That is why I came to Star. I bought a few portions of chaap along with some haleem.”
Another businessman from Old Dhaka said he purchases iftar from Star every year because of the quality of its food and was doing the same this year.
Mohammad Rafique, manager of Star Hotel & Restaurant, said they had received an excellent response on the very first day of Ramadan. “Iftar sales have started very well. There are no problems so far,” he added.
Besides restaurants, pavement vendors also witnessed a significant rush. Similar scenes were observed at several roadside stalls in the Rajar Deuri area of Old Dhaka, where chickpeas, onion fritters, potato chops and aubergine fritters were being sold at Tk 5 per piece.
A rickshaw driver purchasing iftar from a pavement stall said he preferred buying from roadside vendors because prices were lower. “We are poor people with limited income, so we cannot afford to buy from big restaurants,” he said.
Fruit shops also saw brisk sales as fruit forms an essential part of iftar. However, rising prices have caused concern among customers. A visit to several fruit shops in Old Dhaka found black grapes selling at Tk 600 per kg, green grapes at Tk 420, white apples at Tk 420, red apples at Tk 400, oranges at Tk 360, pears at Tk 450, and malta at Tk 360 per kg.
Several customers asking about fruit prices said that if prices were already this high on the first day of Ramadan, it might become unaffordable within a few days.
Sattar, a fruit trader in Old Dhaka, said wholesale prices of fruits had increased by Tk 50 to Tk 100 per kg. “We have to purchase at higher prices. We are not increasing prices ourselves,” he claimed.
