Bangladesh traders return to Bidhannagar Mela, hope for better business this year
Times of India | 2 December 2025
Kolkata: Traders from Bangladesh, who could not participate in last year's Bidhannagar Mela Utsav due to the volatile political situation in the neighbouring country, have returned to the fair with garments and saree stalls as the BMC-run fair kicked off at the Salt Lake Central Park fairground on Monday. The fair will continue till Dec 21.
The fair began in the presence of BMC mayor Krishna Chakraborty, Bidhannagar MLA and minister Sujit Bose, other cabinet ministers and BMC councillors. Chakraborty said that the fair will have around 500 stalls this time.
Civic officials said that the Bangladesh garments and saree stalls are very popular and have been one of the biggest crowd-pullers of the fair. "For Bangladeshi sarees, one does not have to go to Bangladesh. Not one or two, but many Bangladesh saree stalls have come up here," said BMC chairperson Sabyasachi Dutta. Last year, the fair did not have participation from Bangladesh traders due to travel restrictions and tension at the border. This year, 14 stalls have been reserved for Bangladeshi traders. While 13 stalls are 250 sq ft each, one of the stalls has a reserved space of 500 sq ft.
"Many of us could not come to this fair last year due to the volatile situation. Despite various restrictions in place, this year we have decided to participate in the fair by paying more for our visa," said Md Ratan, a trader from Dhaka.
One of the staff of a Jamdani saree stall from Dhaka, Rangpur, said that he was happy to return this time. "Last time there was a lot of trouble. This year we have come with a business visa. We had to submit all the related documents which were thoroughly scrutinised since getting a visa is now tough. We hope for good business this time," he said.
Another resident of Noakhali in Bangladesh, who has been participating in the fair for the last 18 years, said that business had suffered last year due to the political tensions. "This year we are expecting business to pick up again. We have returned to Kolkata and hope things will be what they used to be," he said.
Those who came to the fair on the opening day were happy with the return of Bangladeshi stalls. "We always visit the stalls in this fair but missed out on the opportunity last time," said Sarmistha Ganguly, a resident of Salt Lake.