A chaos gone silent
The ever buzzing Karwanbazar has taken a quiet and harrowing look ever since the lockdown was imposed in late March
Around midnight, a group of 12 men were unloading vegetables from five trucks near Petrobangla building at Karwan Bazar. These will all go into the wholesale market.
Nearby, four other empty trucks stood silently. The driver was nowhere in sight. They have already been unloaded and will probably soon leave the place.
Around 12:30am, six trucks arrived and stopped in front of Janata Tower. A small group of labourers went to unload the trucks and hurriedly took away the vegetables inside the wholesale market.
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An empty rickshaw passed by, this time without twinkling its bell. Moments later, the trucks also made its way out, without honking their horns – because that is no longer necessary.
Just a month ago, Karwanbazar wholesale market used to be a chaotic place, with rickshaw-van pullers, pedestrians, labourers, buyers and sellers – buying or selling their goods and services.
But that night, the country's busiest marketplace told a different tale.
The ever buzzing Karwanbazar has taken a quiet and harrowing look ever since the lockdown was imposed in late March.
The place, which used to be the battleground of bargains for buyers and sellers has fallen silent. Only a handful of people were seen buying kitchen essentials that night.
"The number of buyers has dropped significantly due to the coronavirus," said Amzad Ali, a man who came to buy vegetables.
Even the prices have dropped.
"The price of all types of vegetables have dropped and therefore traders are bringing fewer amounts of vegetables," said Mohammad Aslam, a labourer at the marketplace.
The lockdown, which has led many people to leave the city for their village homes has taken a toll on the kitchen market, which provides three quarters of the total vegetable demand of the capital - fetching over Tk5 crore daily.
With fewer number of buyers and sellers, even other businesses in the area have been impacted. The place, known for hundreds of small tea vendors at every 10 steps, now has only two tea-stalls operating at night.
Mala Begum, a tea vendor in the area, is also facing a fall in revenue, as people are not coming to Karwan Bazar. Rickshaw-van driver in the wholesale market Soleman Gazi echoed the same words. His income has also dropped due to the coronavirus.
The lockdowns have not spared anyone. With offices and schools shut, and people in their villages, the falling demand for vegetables has resulted in the prices to fall.
But the story of those transporting the goods are even worse. Some truck drivers said that they are barred from entering some districts, including Rajshahi, due to lockdown in the area.
Business leaders said on a normal day 400 trucks loaded with over 4,000 tonnes of vegetables arrive at Karwan Bazar.
But the picture has changed dramatically over the last twenty days.
"Now around 50 trucks with vegetables are coming every night at Karwan Bazar," said Omar Faruk, president of Karwan Bazar Khudra Arat Bebasayee Samabay Samiti (Karwan Bazar Traders' Association), adding that it has affected the small vendors the most.
Recently, authorities ordered the retail market to close and limit operations of the wholesale market till midnight, after few traders tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
However, defying the orders, some traders are still selling their commodities on the road in front of Government Science College in Tejgaon.
