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Once ‘Mirpur Banarasi Palli’ was a suburb in Dhaka where Bangladesh’s largest Banarasi manufacturing and selling used to occur round the year.
Nowadays, this industry that earned reputation for its production of beautiful and some of the finest sarees in Bangladesh has been struggling to cope with the dip in business it is facing due to lockdown owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronavirus crisis is having a devastating knock-on effect on the sari hub in Mirpur with customers all but ditching it. It has left the traders crying for government assistance to cover costs and pay workers after passing the peak seasons since the pandemic gloom.
The coronavirus-triggered crisis has not only led to the fall in the sale of sarees, a number of workers associated with the Banarasi saree industry are also suffering.
The hand-woven Banarasi silk with its intricate motifs and generous use of gold or silver zari -- or thread -- is widely sought after, especially by brides seeking to make a statement during the vibrant wedding season. Due to these engravings, these sarees are relatively heavy. Besides traditional Banarasi, all sorts of saree are available in the Palli.
But a pandemic-triggered slump in weddings and other social functions has also hit the business badly.
After the pandemic disruptions, the traders hoped to cover the costs and recouped their losses during the Eid festivals this year when the government allowed the shops and malls to reopen amid the lockdown.
But, again they started to incur more losses as the wealthy turn to online shopping or nearby malls amid the second wave of contagion.
Besides, people from middle-income families now barely visit the Palli as the pandemic has put pressure on almost everyone’s pocket.
The Banarasi sarees are quite popular for their gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk and opulent embroidery. The sarees are usually made of finely woven silk and decorated with intricate design.
According to the Benarasi Palli Shop Owners Association, the traditional Palli at Mirpur has at least 130 shops which provide a livelihood to 15,000 people including weavers, artisans, salesmen and entrepreneurs.
Some traders of the Palli said, “Though Benarashi Palli was mainly popular for its huge collection of traditional Benarashi sarees, it has now lost its momentum amid the countrywide stringent lockdown. Before the pandemic, rich and upper-middle class people very often used to visit our shops but now they prefer to purchase their products online because of Covid-19 infection fear.”
Noman Ali, a local trader said, “Now we are passing idle time amid the lockdown. Though we have a huge collection of sarees in our store, the demand is still very poor in the absence of customers. We can’t even earn Tk 2000 per day during the ongoing pandemic.”
Md Samim, owner of Pabna Benarashi Museum at Mirpur Banarasi Palli said, “We are passing through a very tough time as we are unable to cover up our business losses even after the government allowed us to reopen our shops on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha.”
“Many staff are losing their jobs during the government enforced lockdown while many traders have also changed their professions,” he added.
While talking to The Business Post, Abul Kalam Azad, vice president of Mirpur Benarashi Dokan Malik Samity said, ’I have been involved in this profession for more than 40 years, but I have never experienced such a crisis.”
“There are 130 shop owners who are members of our associations and all of them are now facing a hard-time along with their hundreds of workers related to this specialised field,” he added.
