Netrakona blacksmiths passing busy time ahead of Eid

Several hundreds of blacksmiths in Netrakona are passing busy times making sharp tools to be used for slaughtering sacrificial animals on the holy Eid-ul-Azha.

Reports said many people are crowding the shops of blacksmiths for manufacturing different iron-made tools including machetes, choppers, knives, spades, axe and scissors.

Many people are also having their old equipment repaired and sharpened by blacksmiths.

Blacksmiths are now selling a knife at Tk 300 to 400, a chopper at Tk 350 to 600, a machete at Tk 400 t0 800 and a spade at Tk 300 to 500.

Over a dozen of blacksmiths of the district town and its adjoining areas said the demand for their products increases ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha but its demand goes to fall significantly after the Eid festival.

They can earn profit during the Eid-ul-Azha season but they become almost jobless after the Eid festival, they said.

They drew the attention of the state-run commercial banks by giving them loans to expand their business by making modern equipment.

Some octogenarian blacksmiths of the Satpai area in the district town informed that their business was very profitable over three decades ago when there was tremendous demand for iron-made tools and equipment including sharp ploughs, spades, and knives, sickles and spikes on the wheels of cattle-driven cart and axes.

However, the demand for those iron made tools and equipment have decreased in recent years due to the introduction of mechanical ploughs, tractors, power tillers, harvesters and many other steel-made modern equipment, they said.

In the wake of the present situation, many blacksmiths, who used to earn their livelihood by manufacturing iron tools and agricultural equipment, are now opting for other professions, they added.