Home ›› 12 May 2022 ›› Nation
Seashell-crafted items worth Tk 3 crore were sold in various shops around the beach of Cox’s Bazar during the week-long Eid holiday.
As Cox’s Bazar is the country’s most popular tourist destination, a huge part of the district’s revenue comes from souvenir sales. But the district’s shell crafting industry took a heavy blow during the Covid-19 pandemic as tourist activities were limited.
During the week-long vacation, the district was booming with millions of tourists finally being able to enjoy themselves without any restriction. Along with enjoying a soak in the salty seawater, the tourists also shopped in the nearby markets.
The most sought items by tourists are dried fish and seashell-crafted items. In the first week of May, about Tk 3 crore worth of seashell crafted items have been sold in the over 500 shops around the beach.
Mosharraf Hossain Dulal, chairman of Cox’s Bazar Beach Park Jhinuk Market Traders Samabay Samiti, said at least eight lakh tourists had visited the beach in the first seven days of May.
Most tourists have bought something from the surrounding shops as souvenirs. According to him, every shop has made sales of Tk 10,000 – Tk 80,000 per day. With 54 shops, the largest shell crafts market in the city is at Laboni Point on the beach.
Trade has been going on in full swing from morning till night there. Safayet Hossain, manager of Afsar Store in the north part of the market, said they have seashell craft products worth Tk 20 lakh stored in their shop.
According to him, last Monday, the shop made sales of Tk 4,000 in the first two hours of opening. On the day before, they sold products worth Tk 26,000.
There are over 500 shops selling products crafted from snail conch and oyster shells in different areas of the city, including Kolatoli Beach, Sugandha Road, Sugandha Beach, Laboni Point, Jele Park, and Tekpara Burmese Market.
These shops were closed down for the most part of the last two years. Trade was slow during the limited time they were open as tourist activity was relatively low.
But the situation turned around as tourists flocked to the beach during the holidays. Most bought souvenirs crafted from snail conch and oyster shells to take home for their friends and family.
Around two lakh people in the district are involved in collecting, processing, producing, selling, and supplying snail conch and oyster shells.
Jewelry such as hair decorations, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings made from snail conches, is being sold for Tk 5 – Tk 500. Products made from oyster shells are being sold for Tk 10 – Tk 200.
Pearl necklaces of various sizes are being sold for Tk 100 – Tk 800, while chandeliers and other decorations cost between Tk 200 – Tk 1,000, and decorative lamps cost Tk 200 – Tk 900.
Sabina Yasmin, a housewife from Narayanganj, bought 30 necklaces made of seashells for Tk 15 per piece from a shop on Kolatoli beach. She said the products are beautiful yet cheap and her close ones will be very happy receiving the gifts.
“I got names of my family members carved on snail conches to give them as gifts,” said Kamrul Islam, a businessman from Sutrapur in Dhaka.
According to traders around the district, the high tide washes ashore a large number of dead snails and oysters, which then gather on the coasts of Teknaf, Shahpari Island, St Martin’s island, Moheshkhali, Ukhiya, Sonadia, and Kutubdia areas of the district.
Many locals collect the snails and oysters, and sell them to traders. Those are then transported to Cox’s Bazar town, and are cleaned and processed.
Afterward, various products are crafted from the shell and conches in different areas of the district such as Baharchora, Kolatoli, Ghonapara, and Saikatpara. Women are mostly involved in this industry, crafting products during their free time at home.
According to people involved in the industry for over 30 years, more than 120 species of snails and oysters float up from the bottom of the Bay of Bengal during high tide.
But in recent days, only 30 species of snails and oysters are found. This is probably due to environmental pollution and the loss of snail habitat at the bottom of the ocean.
Currently, the most commonly found varieties are Rajmukut, Bichchu, Koroi, Fulchilon, Baghkori, Malpuri, Tilakkori, Datachilon, Kortal, Large Conch, Kangaro Conch, Vokha Conch, Kata Snail, Uronto Balaka, Ring Conch, Chadok Conch, Bukchira Koroi, Red Snail and Jingor Snail.
Decades ago, huge quantities of pearls could be found on the Jaliapara coast of Shahpari Island and the Sonadia coast of Maheshkhali. The local supply of pearls has since dwindled, and tourist demands are now being met with pearls imported from India and China.
