BANGLADESH NEWS
A small tin-roofed house with some wooden frames stretching saris and kamizes and seven to eight children and teenagers are sewing beads, sequins or spangles on them. This is what is seen now in the bustling Bihari Palli, a hub of handicraft in Chittagong city, ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Artisans are working tirelessly at more than 40-50 small old handicraft factories to do “Jardowsi” and “Karchupi” decoration on women's wear at the Palli in Jhawtola area. Most of the workers here are small boys and girls.
Every Eid season, the handicraft artisans get busier with increasing demand and orders from the beginning of Ramadan.
“During Eid festival our work increases manifold, and we do not get a single moment of recess,” said Khalid Jafar Pappo, owner of Pappo Boutiques, the largest boutique house in Bihari Palli.
“This year, I have received orders for designing clothes from different stores at Mimi Super Market, Teri Bazar and Bipani Bitan in the city,” he said.
Shops apart, individual women with tastes in sequined and decorated clothes also come to these factories with orders ahead of Eid, he said.
The handicraft factory owners however were worried over the spiraling costs of decoration accessories and intrusion of Indian products.
“Two years ago the cost of a packet of beads was only Tk 45. Now it is Tk 120. But we cannot increase our selling price,” said Mohammed Murad, owner of Murad Boutiques.
“Despite a heavy demand of our handicraft works, we do not get suitable prices because we are entirely dependent on raw materials imported from India,” he added.
A handicraftsman, Abdur Rahim, pointed out the impact of intrusion of Indian products. “Many readymade handicraft products come from India and flood our markets, causing decline of demand of our products.”
Distinguishing between Bangladeshi and Indian products, Mohammed Raju, another artisan, said, “We handcraft our designs unlike the Indian ones which are done through machine.”
“Every year we create new designs and apply these in saris and kamizes. The price also varies on the elegance of designs,” he added.
Despite facing a competition with Indian products, Raju said they would retain their traditional family profession.
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