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Sabikun Nahar (25), a resident of Narsingdi, visited Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) for the first time on Tuesday. She was planning to visit the fair, but could not as road communication was not easy from her district.
Finally, Sabikun came here with her family members thanks to shuttle bus services provided by Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).
“This fair is like entertainment for me than buying goods. I am enjoying a lot, though I have bought some essential goods,” she told The Business Post on Tuesday.
Mahmudul Hassan, who lives in Mirpur, used to visit the trade fair at Agargaon in Dhaka. But he missed it since the venue was shifted to Purbachal. He was also seen roaming around the fairground on Tuesday. He got on a shuttle bus at Farmgate Khejurbagan near Khamarbari.
While talking to this correspondent on the bus, he said that bus started its journey at 4:07 pm and took only 42 minutes to take passengers to the fairground.
“I came to bus stop from Mirpur by metro rail. It was a 15-minute journey. So, the whole journey from my home to the fair was only one hour,” he added.
When DITF, the country’s largest trade exhibition, was being held at it old place, thousands of visitors used to gather at the fair venue every day.
But in 2022, the venue was relocated to Purbachal. Due to the long distance and poor road communication as well as nagging traffic jam in Dhaka city, visitors lost interest to visit the trade fair. As a result, businesses saw low turnout and faced financial losses.
However, the 28th edition of the fair is getting momentum since the second week of its inauguration on January 21 as visitors are coming to the venue by BRTC special buses and Dhaka city’s visitors are able to go there easily thanks to two expressways.
State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu at a press conference said that every day 64 BRTC buses are carrying visitors only from Dhaka city where 40 start journey from Kuril and 24 from Farmgate.
The number of buses will increase to 161 on Fridays and Saturdays. Bus fares are Tk 35 and Tk 70 for Kuril and Farmgate respectively.
A ticket checker, seeking anonymity, said that buses leave Farmgate after every 30 minutes and most of the time, it takes 15-20 minutes. The journey starts at 8 am.
Exhibitors are in cheer for a huge response and expecting good sales this season.
Mohammad Rony, a senior salesman at a crockeries shop who has been doing job at the trade fair over a decade, said, “Our sales target was Tk 2 crore at this fair and one-fourth of the target has already been met, though the fair started just a week ago, and many stalls are yet to be set up properly.
“Traditionally, people start purchasing from the third week and we witness good sales in the last week. But this season, sales started from the second week. Most of the customers are new and they came from Narayanganj and Narsindi.”
Moyem Khan, a deliveryman of a stall said, “Since last ten years, I regularly worked as a deliveryman at DITF, and customers were from Dhaka city and its surrounding areas. But this year I am delivering most of goods to Narayanganj, Narsindi, and Rupganj along with Dhaka.”
Walton booked a pavilion at the fair venue, showcasing many new computers and mobile items along with their regular TV and refrigerator. The local electronics manufacturer is popular as a TV and refrigerator-based tech venture, though a few city people know about their tech items.
This correspondent talked to a group of students who came here from Narayanganj. They were observing Walton’s mobile and computers. Three were playing game on personal computer (PC).
“We have come to know for the first time that Walton is producing world-class PC. Its mobile features are also good,” Shafiqul Islam, one of the students, told The Business Post on Tuesday.
Shariar Rahman, Sales Executive at Walton, said that they have 43 types of PC and laptop, including all in one PC, and their key aim is to showcase their new items.
“Last two years, the fair saw limited visitors. But this year, we have got a huge response from several areas, including rural areas.”
After evening, visitors start leaving the fairground and continue till 11 pm. Ticket checkers at DITF bus stop said that buses leave here after every five minutes. Sometimes, visitors have to stand in queue to maintain disciplines.
Fair centre still unplanned
Even though the authority earlier said that the fair will be fully planned after relocation of its venue to Purbachal, there is still mismanagement. In front of the entry gate, hawkers set up shops and were selling street food, hindering the movement of visitors.
Sometimes, it turned into congested area as people are trying to enter the venue and many are buying food from street shops. Children, elderly people and women are worst sufferers.
Besides, visitors are grappling with dust pollution outside the fair venue.
On the other hand, the organiser of the fair, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) allocated many stalls on open space which damage the beauty of the fair centre as well as create space shortage.
The EPB said that they allocated 350 stalls among local and international entrepreneurs, including 18 from Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Singapore and Malaysia. Of the total, 174 stalls are set up inside the exhibition centre.
The whole area is 355,000 square feet where 166,300 square feet for the exhibition centre. The main venue is separated by two halls.
Sadikur Rahman, a visitor said, “The government should not allocate stalls outside the main venue, and should take the surrounding environment into account.”
