Khulna: A permanent rawhide market in Khulna can save the businessmen from the prolonged business losses during Eid-ul-Azha. Rawhide traders expressed their dissatisfaction with this business to BSS saying the previous government could not take any business-friendly steps to save the rawhide trade as well as the business.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, during a visit on Sunday at the business hub in the city’s Sheikhpara area, rawhide traders in Khulna have demanded the establishment of a permanent market and preservation facility for hides ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, citing prolonged business losses and lack of infrastructure. Every year, temporary rawhide markets are set up on roadsides during Eid-ul-Azha, with the city’s Sheikhpara area emerging as the main trading hub. However, traders said no permanent rawhide market has yet been established in Khulna.
Rawhide traders said that no new market for rawhide trading has developed in the last seven years. Due to the absence of preservation facilities, traders face severe difficulties during Eid-ul-Azha every year. Babar Ali, a rawhide trader of Sheikhpara, said around 35 traders once conducted business in about 10 shops in the area. But most shop owners later became unwilling to rent premises for rawhide businesses, forcing traders to shut down operations gradually.
He said many traders also suffered losses after failing to receive payments from tannery companies on time. ‘We need a permanent market near the trading area. If proper facilities are ensured and hides are purchased at government-fixed prices, both traders and sellers will benefit,’ he said.
General Secretary of Khulna Rawhide Traders Association Kartik Ghosh said traders are facing serious problems due to the lack of preservation facilities. ‘Sheikhpara, a temporary roadside makeshift rawhide market, locally known as Chamarpatti, was a well-known trading centre. Now that tradition has nearly disappeared. Many traders have already left the business,’ he said.
Contacted, Association President Abdus Salam Dhali said the rawhide business in Khulna is now on the verge of collapse. He said that the prices of rawhides will be fixed by the government, mainly for preserved and processed hides. ‘We could not collect and preserve expected rawhides due to inadequate labourers, inadequate tannery depot and fall of rawhide prices,’ he said.
Talking to BSS, KCC Administrator Nazrul Islam Manju said the city corporation would consider the issues if traders formally place the demand for a permanent rawhide market. ‘We will think about where such a market can be established,’ he added. Of the collected hides, 1, 19,112 were collected from cows and buffaloes, and 2, 07,682 were collected from goats, sheep and other sacrificial animals.