Blacksmiths doing brisk business before Eid

Blacksmiths in Rajshahi are busy on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, making knives, machetes and choppers for sacrificing animals and cutting their flesh. For more than 200 blacksmiths in different parts of the district, it is ancestral profession. Ibrahim Hossain, a blacksmith of Sagarpara Bottola in the city, said finding a butcher on the first two days of Eid is difficult. So, people prefer to sacrifice animals themselves to follow the Sunnah and avoid inconvenience. They buy the required tools, while many get their old knives and choppers sharpened. That is why the demand for their products is high this time of the year. “We are expecting higher sales ahead the Eid-ul-Azha,” Hossain said.
“We do not even have the time to breathe, whereas we stay almost idle rest of the year,” said another blacksmith, Hashem Ali. “Although there are wholesale buyers of knives and other slaughtering tools the year round, retail buyers swarm to us during Eid-ul-Azha,” he added.
Sharing his experience, Ali further said mostly people buy a set consisting of one big knife to slaughter the animal, one small to take off skin and a chopper to cut the meat into pieces.
Prices depend on quality. Currently, "chapatis" are selling at Tk. 400 to Tk. 1.200, butcher knives Tk. 250 to Tk. 800, small knives Tk. 50 to Tk. 300 and cleavers Tk. 250 to Tk. 500.
Nuruzzaman, a professional butcher who has a meat shop in the city’s Shaheb Bazar area, said he had come to buy several sharp tools as he had recruited some extra hands to work with him ahead of Eid.
Not only are the blacksmiths of the city doing good business, knife sharpeners too are moving around the city calling for knife sharpening as Eid-ul-Azha draws near.
On the other hand, some shops adjacent to the blacksmiths’ workshops at New Market, Sagarpara, Kumarpara, Shalbangan, Sopura, Talaimari, Laxmipur areas of the city are selling tree trunks, which are used to chop big pieces of meat and bone, at Tk. 250 to Tk. 2,000. Our Staff Reporter in Barisal writes: The blacksmiths in the Hatkhola area of the city are doing good business.  
On a visit to Kamar Para in Hatkhola yesterday (Thursday), this correspondent found blacksmiths busy making machetes, axes, blades, knives, choppers, spades, cleavers, shovels, hooks and mallets according to the demand of customers.

Blacksmiths doing brisk business before Eid

Blacksmiths in Rajshahi are busy on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, making knives, machetes and choppers for sacrificing animals and cutting their flesh. For more than 200 blacksmiths in different parts of the district, it is ancestral profession. Ibrahim Hossain, a blacksmith of Sagarpara Bottola in the city, said finding a butcher on the first two days of Eid is difficult. So, people prefer to sacrifice animals themselves to follow the Sunnah and avoid inconvenience. They buy the required tools, while many get their old knives and choppers sharpened. That is why the demand for their products is high this time of the year. We are expecting higher sales ahead the Eid-ul-Azha, Hossain said. We do not even have the time to breathe, whereas we stay almost idle rest of the year, said another blacksmith, Hashem Ali. Although there are wholesale buyers of knives and other slaughtering tools the year round, retail buyers swarm to us during Eid-ul-Azha, he added. Sharing his experience, Ali further said mostly people buy a set consisting of one big knife to slaughter the animal, one small to take off skin and a chopper to cut the meat into pieces. Prices depend on quality. Currently, chapatis are selling at Tk. 400 to Tk. 1.200, butcher knives Tk. 250 to Tk. 800, small knives Tk. 50 to Tk. 300 and cleavers Tk. 250 to Tk. 500. Nuruzzaman, a professional butcher who has a meat shop in the citys Shaheb Bazar area, said he had come to buy several sharp tools as he had recruited some extra hands to work with him ahead of Eid. Not only are the blacksmiths of the city doing good business, knife sharpeners too are moving around the city calling for knife sharpening as Eid-ul-Azha draws near. On the other hand, some shops adjacent to the blacksmiths workshops at New Market, Sagarpara, Kumarpara, Shalbangan, Sopura, Talaimari, Laxmipur areas of the city are selling tree trunks, which are used to chop big pieces of meat and bone, at Tk. 250 to Tk. 2,000. Our Staff Reporter in Barisal writes: The blacksmiths in the Hatkhola area of the city are doing good business. On a visit to Kamar Para in Hatkhola yesterday (Thursday), this correspondent found blacksmiths busy making machetes, axes, blades, knives, choppers, spades, cleavers, shovels, hooks and mallets according to the demand of customers.