Let’s go to the Southern Floating Market
When you are bored in the midst of monotonous work, you can turn to refresh yourself. You can have a good time if you want.
Like the floating market abroad, Bangladesh also has a floating market. Where everything is sold on floating boats. Everything from five taka tea, bean to rice, rice, vegetables and daily necessities are sold floating in this market. This scene can be seen in the ‘Baithakata Floating Market’.
Where is this market?
The largest floating market in the country’s most beautiful district of Pirojpur, ‘Baithakata’. This market is established in Belua river of Nazirpur upazila. This river is the estuary of three districts (Gopalganj, Pirojpur and Barisal). This floating market is held every Saturday and Tuesday. Farmers from Chitalmari, Morelganj, Tungipara and surrounding districts started coming to Nazirpur by dinghy boats from the previous night. By 5:30 in the morning, the market gets busy. Unlike other markets, buyers and sellers do not come here on foot or by car. Everyone comes to this market by boat. Haat normally runs from dawn to 2 pm.
Geographically, the entire Nazirpur upazila of Pirojpur is surrounded by rivers and canals. This area is famous for floating vegetables and vegetable seedling production. Vaithakata market started during Pakistan period for buying and selling vegetables and various agricultural products produced by farmers. But according to some, this market is much older.
what you see
Vaithakata floating market rice, pulses are sold on floating boats. These rice shops floating on boats look quite strange. This shop is unlike any other known rice shop. Each boat has a large rice container made of bamboo. Locally they are known as ‘dola’. Apart from dola, different types of rice are packed in sacks for sale. But mostly seasonal vegetables are sold in this market. Barbati, Kumra, Puishak, Karalla, Patal, Kanchkala and Gourd are mostly sold in this area. Along with rice, pulses, vegetables, various delicacies are also sold on floating boats in Edge Bazaar. Also, various tree saplings are available.
Various aquatic plants, weeds and weeds are also sold here. Although they seem like garbage to us, they are essential components of agriculture in that area. Farmers bought these kachuripana from Vaithakata market at a good price. This floating market is also more crowded than other markets as it can be bought and sold at a relatively low cost.
Both the labor and the cost of bringing and taking products to this market are quite low due to boat communication. Wholesalers appeared in big trawlers with bags of money. Like other markets, the trading of this floating market is done by bargaining.
However, the buying and selling process in this floating market is a little different. It is the sellers who move in small boats to the big trawlers of the wholesalers. He went there and sold the goods by bargaining. In this market, wholesalers’ boats are like floating warehouses. After purchasing various products wholesale from the market including vegetables, dab, coconut, banana, kachu, they are taken to the markets in different parts of the country for the purpose of sale.
commute
Dhaka has a direct launch communication system with Baithakata. A launch called Pubali-9 is traveling to Dhaka every day. Along with passengers, the products of this market are sent to Dhaka through this launch. Not only from the commercial side of the market, a new possibility of tourism has been created with the beautiful floating Vaithakata market having direct launch communication from Dhaka.
Stay and eat
There is no modern hotel-motel with many facilities in this area. Small quality hotels are available in the nearby suburbs of Nazirpur, Swarupkathi. If you want to stay more comfortably, you should go to Barisal or Pirojpur district city. And local restaurants are the only hope of eating.
remember
The market can be seen only if you target Saturday and Tuesday. Arriving there on other days of the week will not match the taste of the market.
