Boat market gets busy amid monsoons

The century-old boat market in Bhanga upazila of Faridpur is abuzz with buyers and sellers thanks to rising water levels in the Kumar river amid recent rains, but customer turnout is far less than before.

During a recent visit, it was seen that hundreds of handmade boats are available at the market, which opens twice weekly on Monday and Friday from June to September.

Traders say the market has been a major main hub for the business since the British colonial period.

And other than locals, people from different districts come to the market to buy boats of varying size.

But over time, many canals and marshlands have dried up as it no longer rains like before.

And although this decreased the demand, people still crowd the market during monsoon season.

Manik Fakir, a boat trader of Bablatla village under Bhanga upazila, said the market is not as busy as it used to be.

"Still, I am maintaining my 35-year-old business. I brought eight boats to the market and sold four in one day," he said.

"I buy boats from Barishal and sell in this market. Small boats of Barishal are quite durable. I can make a profit of Tk 300-500 from each boat, which sell for Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000," Manik added.

Krishna Mandal, a boat maker of Pulia village under Bhanga upazila, said he came to the market to sell two boats.

"We make boats from Raintree and Chambal wood. It takes two days to build a boat but there is not much profit after expenses," he added while pointing out that he sold one boat for Tk 5,000.

Rahmat Khan, a resident of the district's Saltha upazila who came to buy a boat, said the Bhanga boat market is one of the biggest boat markets in the area.

"I came to buy a boat for fishing," he added.

Islam Sheikh, a resident of the Talma area in Faridpur's Nagarkanda upazila, said he bought a boat for Tk 5,500.

"We can choose boats from this market that we need," he added.

Shohidul Haque Munshi, chairman of the Bhanga Bazar Committee, said people from different districts come to the market to buy and sell boats during the monsoon season.

"It was once a very busy boat market but now, it is not as crowded as before," he added, citing how thousands of boats would be sold from the market each year.