Hundreds of people thronged the capital’s traditional Chawkbazar iftar market to buy mouthwatering iftar items on Thursday, the first day of Ramadan.
Though some buyers complained about high prices of some items this year, the sellers claimed they tried their best to serve the huge crowd.Big crowds were seen in front of ‘boro baper polai khay, thonga voira loia jai’ which is a mixture of chickpeas, minced meat, potatoes, brains, chira, boiled egg, chicken, spices, different types of kabab and ghee.
Talha Junayed came from Barisal for an official work and visited the iftar market only to buy and see ‘boro baper polai khay’, the main attraction of Chawkbazar iftar market, selling at Tk 300 per kg.
He observed it looked delicious and hoped to share this dish with friends at iftar.
Giant mutton leg roast, roasted pigeon, koel, chicken and duck also attracted city people in the iftar market.
Beef suti kabab was available at Tk 500 and mutton suti kabab at Tk 600 per kg, said salesman Raju Sheikh.
Among the delicious varieties of kabab, buyers mostly opted for shami kabab, reshmi kabab, jhali kabab, boti kabab and irani kabab.
Other tasty items of Chawkbazar iftar market include samucha, tana parata, plain parata, nimakpara, kima roll, kima parata, bundia, chicken chap, chicken tikka, beef chap, beguni, piazu, roasted chola and traditional pitha.
Different types of sweet items were available at the iftar market including labang, malai cup, firni, doi bora and faluda.
Jahangir Hossain, a corporate official, complained to New Age that prices of some items increased this year.
Cucumber was available at Tk 20 which rose to Tk 50, he said.
Peyari Begum, a puffed rice seller, said the government was responsible for price hike as the government lacked any control over market and this caused a lot of sufferings to retailers as well as the consumers.
However, another buyer Tamij Kamal said, ‘Price of every items is a bit higher than previous year but to get some very special items people should spend some money.’
He came from Kamrangirchar and bought many items including three types of halim – beef, mutton and chicken, for his family.
Tamij said the first day of Ramadan should be observed nicely for which every year they buy iftar items from this market.
Seasonal fruits banana, jackfruit, pineapple, mango, papaya, water melon, apple, malta and grape were also on sale.
Date, the most significant item of Ramadan, was available at Tk 200-2000.
Rafik Baburchi, who has been selling iftar items in the market for the last 45 years, said his family had been doing business in the market from the British period.
He said their grandfather sold iftar in Chawkbazar in British period, their father in Pakistan period and they were doing the job for more than three decades.
Rafik hoped that they would make at least Tk 1 lakh profit from this year iftar sale.
In the most popular iftar market, some were seen to use already used oil to fry many other items, some were seen mixing food ingredients with bare hand under open sky and adding colour to make it attractive.
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan chairman Abu Naser Khan told New Age that every year in Ramadan, unscrupulous traders in Dhaka city use poisonous oil for preparing items for iftar, use different colours and chemicals and elements which were harmful for the health. However, the sellers turned down the allegation.
Though hundreds of makeshift shops were offering delicious items to city dwellers, the environmentalists urged the iftar sellers of Chawkbazar to ensure safe, unadulterated food on the occasion of Ramadan.
-With New Age input
