The tailors in Chittagong city are passing very busy hours ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Both the owners and workers in the alleys of Khalifapatti, a hub of tailors in the city, are working from dawn to dusk with a very short break every day. The noise of sewing machines echoing through the area of Ghatfarhadbeg sends a message to the adjoining areas that festivity of the Eid-ul-fitr is knocking at the door.
Around 4,500 tailors and workers in 500 tailoring shops and factories of Khalifapatti are working from 10.00 am till late night everyday with a short break in the month of Ramzan, said sources. Their products are sold within the range of Tk150 to Tk 7,000 and most of the clients are women and children.
During a visit to the alleys of Khalifapatti last week it was seen that like every year they are making the modern fashionable dresses named ‘Masakkali’, ‘Floor-touch’, ‘Kironmala’ or ‘Anarkali’.   ‘Floor-touch’ and ‘Kironmala’ dresses are in great demand in this Eid-ul-fitr, said Nizam Uddin, owner of Nahida Garments, adding that they are making finely tuned dresses for people of all ages at a comparatively cheaper price. Abdul Ahad, owner of Shahinur Garments said, “Our products are sold over the whole country. Therefore everyone is busy  ahead of Eid as it is the peak season for us.”
Moin Uddin, who has been running the business for 25 years now in the area said, “We are  the designers as well as tailors;  so price of our products are lower than any other wholesale market in the country.” According to Khalifapatti Banik Kalyan Samity, the products are mainly sold to the buyers coming from Cox’s Bazar, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Feni, Noakhali, Luksmipur, Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Sylhet, Dhaka and 14 upazilas under Chittagong district. A number of prominent shopping malls of the port city collect dresses from the traditional tailors of this locality.
The shopping malls include Sanmar Ocean City, UNESCO Tower, Central Plaza, New Market, Moti Tower, VIP Tower, Reaz Uddin Bazar, Singapore-Bangkok Market, Singapore Market, Karnaphuli Market, Munni Plaza, Hawker Market, and Teribazar, according to the Samity members.
Nurul Islam, former president of the Samity and owner of four tailoring shops, expressed hope to cut more profit than last year as the number of orders was already on the rise. When asked, Humyun Kabir, general secretary of Khalifapatti Banik Kolyan Samity, traced back to the history of this area.
A man named Ayub Ali Sowdagar came to this area from Begumganj, Noakhali in 1947 and initiated the tailoring business.  “Gradually, the area took the name Khalifapatti. Most of the tailors here hail from greater Noakhali region,” said Humayun.
Most of the businessmen have already placed the orders while the tailors were almost ready to deliver, he said. However, Saiful Islam, owner of SM Fashions, said due to the rainy weather, the buyers’ presence in the area was still thin.
Mohammad Alauddin, owner of Samia Fashions, said if the situation remained the same, they would have to incur a huge loss, however, he hoped that an increased number of buyers would throng the area from the middle of Ramzan.