Exploring the 200-Year-Old Floating Market of Bangladesh
Paddy, river, canal — these three make Barisal. In Firozpur of greater Barisal, rivers and canals are spread like a net.
Just 161 kilometers from the capital Dhaka and only 5 kilometers from Nesarabad Upazila of Firozpur, the Atghar Kuriana Canal flows through the heart of Atghar Kuriana Union, branching from the Sandhya River.
Small, medium, and large — various types of boats move smoothly through this canal. As soon as morning breaks, boats loaded with different types of agricultural products start arriving from various areas. They gather at the floating market of Atghar.
Floating Market
This floating market of Atghar is one of the 31 floating markets located in Nesarabad of Firozpur.
Atghar’s floating market stands at the junction of three river-dominated districts — Barisal, Jhalokathi, and Firozpur. According to locals, this market is over 200 years old.
Interestingly, both buyers and sellers come to this market by boat. Due to underdeveloped road communication and the abundance of rivers and canals, boats are the primary mode of transport.
Each boat, loaded with various agricultural products, acts like a floating shop.
The market is connected to places like Atghar, Kuriana, Dumuria, Swarupkathi, Jindhakathi, Brahmankathi, Baulkathi, Rajapur, Rayrahat, and Andakol of Firozpur.
Schedule of Market
Farmers from various areas, including Binoykathi and Bhimruli of Jhalokati and Banaripara of Barisal, load their homegrown agricultural products onto boats and come to the market for selling.
This Atghar market is held twice a week — on Fridays and Mondays. However, during the monsoon, the schedule changes. With overflowing water in the rainy season, the market is held every day.
The floating market of Atghar becomes most vibrant from July to October. Sellers row their boats around in search of buyers.
Since most people in this area are involved in agriculture, this market naturally evolved over time to facilitate the sale of their products.
Types Of Product at Floating Market
Hog plum (amra), papaya, and bananas are abundantly produced in this region. Bananas are usually sold in bunches, but sometimes wholesalers buy them by the boatload.
Those who travel to China, Italy, or Thailand to see floating markets could also consider visiting this one.
Wholesalers buy large quantities of products at relatively lower prices. That’s why they come to the market in engine-powered boats, which can carry a lot of goods at once.
After purchasing from the small boats, they load the products into sacks or baskets and transfer them to their larger boats.
Wholesaler Dynamics
The major buyers here are the wholesalers. They load the engine boats and transport the goods to big cities like Barisal and Dhaka.
There are two types of wholesalers here.
- Some bring large boats to transport goods to distant places like Dhaka,
- While others bring smaller boats to supply nearby district towns.
The trading of vegetables begins at dawn and continues until around 9 AM. After that, for about two hours, local fruits like guava, hog plum (amra), and palmyra (tal) are bought and sold.
Notable products of the market include green coconuts and mature coconuts.
Although engine boats are commonly used, selling goods by rowing manually operated boats from one place to another is still quite convenient.
Seasonal Vegetables
Depending on the season, a variety of vegetables are available here, including green bananas, lemons, spiny gourd, sweet pumpkin, hyacinth beans, bottle gourd, ash gourd, papaya, taro, and nearly all types of leafy greens.
There are also different types of taro, taro stems, taro tips, and taro flowers. The areca nuts (betel nuts) from this area are notably large in size.
Additionally, various types of plant saplings are available — such as paddy, medicinal plants, various vegetables, flowers, and fruit saplings.
Conclusions
For hundreds of years, the lives and livelihoods of the people in this region have revolved around the rivers and canals.
At the heart of their economic activities is this floating market, which fuels that way of life.
Since farmers sell their own produce directly, there are no middlemen — allowing them to receive better prices.
Nowadays, not only buyers and sellers but also visitors from different parts of the country and abroad come to see this unique floating market.
