COX'S BAZAR, June 06: As the Eid-ul-Azha is around the corner, blacksmiths in various places of Cox's Bazar, as elsewhere across the country, are getting increasingly busy receiving new orders every day.
With only a few days left for the second biggest religious festival of the Muslims, blacksmiths and the knife sharpeners in the district including the town are passing busy time in their works.
However, industry insiders said though the demand for animal slaughtering and meat cutting tolls is on the rise, market of the traditional iron-made ones is on the wane under the influence of the modern instruments made out of stainless steel.
Artisans of the Kamar Polli (blacksmith village) said currently prices of iron and coal are very high so the manufactured equipment are to be sold at higher prices though the profit is low.
During a visit on Thursday morning, artisans were seen making various cutting and chopping tools out of iron in various places including the blacksmith village, shops on Airport Road and at bus terminal in Chaul Bazar of the town.
Apart from meeting the needs of the town, wholesalers are taking these tools to different areas of the district.
Again, after buying iron from the town, they manufacture these necessary items with the raw material.
Shankar Das, a blacksmith in Barabazar of the town, said, "We have to be busier than any other time during Qurbani Eid every year. Currently iron and coal prices are very high. So the prices of our manufactured tools are to be sold for higher prices though the profit is low." "We look forward to this time for bonanza sales all the year round," he added.
Workers at the Barabazar blacksmith outlets complained that the wages they are paid are much less compared to their hard work.
Having to sit and work by the fire all day, they are inevitably fall into physical problems.
Due to lack of government patronisation, blacksmith business is declining gradually in Cox's Bazar. Many are forced to wind up their ancestral profession.
Blacksmith Sanjit Chandra of Pekua upazila of Cox's Bazar said, "We don't sell much throughout the year. However, our sales increase during the month of Qurbani Eid. However, as production and competition increased, profits were much lower than before."
Subhash and Sameer Karmakar of Barabazar said that every year they make different special types of materials to meet the demand for Qurbani Eid. This time also the demand for these materials has increased.
"In the single month of Qurbani Eid, we can earn more than what we earn throughout the year. Coal is the most essential fuel for the blacksmithing industry. But this coal is now insufficient compared to the requirement. You have to go to the villages to collect the item, said Subhash.
"Currently, the price of coal has also increased a lot. Along with that, the price of iron has also increased. Although prices of iron and coal have increased, prices of the products produced by blacksmiths have not increased in comparison," he continued.
Akhter Kamal, councilor of Cox's Bazar municipality, said, "Blacksmiths are in extreme trouble due to exorbitant prices of iron, gradual decline in demand for their products due to expansion of modern farming, shortage of buyers and increase in prices of the daily commodities and higher education cost for their boys and girls."
However, during Eid-al-Azha, they can make some higher profit; otherwise it was not possible for them to survive in the profession.
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