The 200-year-old business centre in N’ganj

Kaikertek Haat (weekly market) in Narayanganj’s Sonargaon upazila is one of the oldest in the country, dating back almost 200 years according to local lore.

Situated in Kaikertek village of the upazila’s Mograpara union, this haat is also locally known as the Sunday

market. Although no documents have been found supporting this argument, it is popularly known in the area that back in the day, royals used to visit this market.

Apart from the regular buyers and sellers, centuries-old architecture and riverside natural surroundings also attract tourists. In addition to the locals, people from the surrounding districts like Narsingdi, Munshiganj and Cumilla, flock to Kaikertek Haat.

The trade of boats is the oldest known business in the market. Although the market is open throughout the year, boats are sold during the Bengali months of Ashar, Sraban, Bhadra and Ashwin. Buyers from surrounding districts come here to buy good quality boats.

Nowadays, like all other weekly markets, almost all the daily necessities are sold here. Tourists can spend a Sunday enjoying the scenic beauty of nature, the hustle and bustle of the market or the delicious sweets from this traditional haat located near Dhaka.

According to the local traders, they arrive early in the morning with their cultivated crops or manufactured goods every Sunday. Many families depend on the sale of goods from this market for their livelihood. Wood merchant Jasim has a permanent shop in the market that remains open all week from early morning to late night.

“The sales are highest on Sunday when the weekly haat sits. This is the ancestral business that I decided to continue. Although the business has declined recently. Especially with the rising prices of daily commodities, it is hard to keep the trade afloat,” he said.

Sexagenarian Abdur Rahim of Kaikertek village sells bamboo at the haat.

In response to a question, he said that both his father and grandfather also used to sell bamboo at the haat however, he could not tell exactly how old the market actually was.

“Business has declined in the last few years. It is getting a bit better again but due to poor condition of the road, fewer customers from far visit nowadays,” he said.

Geography and history

Kaikartek Haat, situated by the banks of the Brahmaputra River, is a witness to hundreds of years of ancient tradition. The Sunday market only remains open from 6am to 7pm.

According to the market committee, the haat is over two hundred years old, however, there is no official documentation.

From goods like, fishing accessories, sickles, knives, axes, and clothes to saplings and even cattle, goats, poultry, pigeons, and fish are sold at this market. Seasonal fruits such as mango, grapes, litchi, jackfruit and other food items are also sold here.

However, the centre of attraction of this market is a special kind of sweet called Puta. This sweet is four to five times bigger than other sweets in terms of weight and measurement and each piece weighs about one to two kg. Many people come from far and wide just to taste this sweet in this market on Sunday.

Like this market, the tradition of puta sweets is very old. However, the sweet makers and traders failed to give any information about the history of this sweet.

Puta sweet is sold at Tk 120-150 per kg. Apart from Puta Sweets, there are various types of sweets such as Kalojam, Rasgolla, Jilapi, Mohanbhog, Lalbhog and Balushah available here.

Not only sweets, a special lacchi (a type of smoothie) made with sour curd and sugarcane molasses and other local food are sold here. Apart from this, many types of shutki (dried fish) especially hilsha and chapa are also traded.

There are many routes to this haat such as the road from Chashara of Narayanganj. Another route is from the Mograpara intersection in Sonargaon. Trawlers and boats regularly travel from Munshiganj directly to the market by crossing Brahmaputra River.

Current troubles

However, buyers and sellers are recently facing some troubles commuting to and from the market. About 350 metres of road from the entrance of the haat is in a dilapidated condition. Heavy vehicles cannot tread the road.

Due to a lack of parking space, those who bring their private vehicle sometimes face theft as there is no security system. Local traveller Jasim Uddin said, “Many like me often come to the market on a motorcycle. But I cannot shop comfortably due to the lack of a parking space. There are also flyers warning about motorcycle thieves.”

He added that the lack of security is disheartening.

Regarding the various issues, the haat committee’s General Secretary Rabiul Pradhan told The Business Post that motorcycles are being stolen from this market for the past two years.

“This is a recent development. About thirty motorcycles have been stolen so far. So we put up posters at various places to warn the motorcyclists about this,” he said.

He further said that they are considering the construction of a specific parking area where everyone can park safely after paying a parking fee.

The market falls under Mograpara union of the upazila and the lease has to be renewed every year on the month of Baishakh.

The amount for lease was Tk 45 lakh previously but has been increased to Tk 1.2 crore this year. According to the size of the shop, the traders are charged Tk 10,000-20,000 per annum rent.

However, this year, the market committee deduces a possibility of loss due to the high amount of leases paid this year.

This correspondent failed to contact Mograpara Union Chairman Md Arif Masud in regard to the road condition and suffering of buyers and sellers.