Quilt and mattress makers busy in Ishwardi

Pabna Correspondent :

With the arrival of winter, quilt and mattress makers in Ishwardi, a riverbank area of the Padma, are spending busy days and nights making quilts and mattresses.

The intensity of cold is increasing day by day, and biting cold may set in within the next few days. Even before winter fully begins, ordinary people have started crowding quilt and mattress shops. However, traders said that the prices of cotton, quilt fabric, foam, and labor wages have all increased compared to last year.

As a northern township, the Padma char areas of Ishwardi experience stronger cold as soon as evening sets in. Over the last three days, the temperature has fluctuated between 12 and 13 degrees Celsius. According to Nazmul Haque Ranjan, an Assistant Observer at the Meteorological Office, the minimum temperature was recorded at 12°C on Saturday, and 13°C on Sunday and Monday.

Ishwardi is also known for recording extremely high temperatures during heatwaves as well as very low temperatures in winter. Being a riverside upazila, the impact of winter is comparatively stronger here. Meteorologists say the geographical location of Ishwardi is one of the main reasons. The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of Bangladesh, and because Ishwardi lies near this line, it experiences extreme heat in summer and relatively severe cold in winter. In addition, the presence of small and large factories and railway installations also causes temperature variations.

Local residents said that due to climate change, cold can now be felt from the Bengali month of Kartik, and its intensity increases further by the month of Agrahayan. With the onset of winter, orders have increased not only at warm clothing shops but also at quilt and mattress shops.
As a result, artisans are currently having a very busy time.

Low-income people are mostly crowding quilt and mattress shops. On the other hand, middle and upper-middle-class families are seen buying blankets from large cloth shops and markets.
Buyers and sellers said that costs have increased somewhat compared to last year. Even so, quilt-making work is going on in full swing in the shops. Many people are changing the covers of their old quilts and mattresses to reuse them like new. Analysts believe that the intensity of winter may increase further this year due to climate change.
On-the-spot observation shows that there are nearly fifty quilt and mattress shops in Ishwardi. Many traders are selling ready-made quilts and mattresses. Besides shopping centers, various warm clothes like sweaters, jackets, trousers, and mufflers are also being sold at the Railway Hawkers’ Market.
Badal, an employee of “Akkas Ali Garments” at the Railway Hawkers’ Market, said,
“In summer my salary is 6,000 taka, but in winter it increases to 8,000-9,000 taka. The more the cold, the more sales increase. If business is good, the owner sometimes pays 10,000-11,000 taka. So winter is a time of joy for us.”
Municipal resident and teacher Mostafizur Rahman said, “Compared to last year, the price of quilts and mattresses is a bit higher this year. I came to buy a quilt because I have been feeling the cold for the past week. However, the price of cotton has increased by 10 to 20 taka per kilogram. The administration needs to pay attention to this issue.”