In Chattogram, a three-hour market that ends when the sun rises: trading from 7 to 10am at Jamalkhan and DC Hill

On Jamalkhan and DC Hill roads in Chattogram city, a market begins after dawn and its trading ends as soon as the sun rises. In this market of just three hours, vans are stacked with vegetables of many colours, fish sit in large bowls, and shoppers can also drink green coconut water when they tire.

After the market ends, cleaners begin washing the road. If the market is cleared late in the busy traffic hours, trouble follows too — sellers say fish and vegetables are thrown onto the road, along with beatings from sticks wielded by those supervising the market.

At the foot of the Jamalkhan stairs, the footpath market draws crowds every day from 7am to 10am. Some permanent shopkeepers remain until noon after the main market ends, but the three-hour sellers wash the footpath with water before leaving. The same scene runs from the mouth of Hamsen Lane to the Buddhist temple area.

Buyers at the two markets come from Nandankanon, Jamalkhan, Rahmatganj, Momin Road, Hamsen Lane, Askar Dighi, Love Lane and Enayet Bazar, and some come from Kotwali, Chawkbazar and Kazir Dewri as well. Many rely on this market after a morning walk at DC Hill, after dropping children at school, or to avoid the crowds of Reyazuddin Bazar.

Fish sellers say farmed fish arrives from areas including Mirsarai, Sitakunda, Patiya and Boalkhali, while sea fish comes from Fishery Ghat. Hilsa, shrimp, loitta, poa, chapila, tilapia, pangas, rui, katla, boal, koi, shing, magur, koral, surma, rupchanda, mrigel, punti, carp and kachki are among the fish on sale. Sellers say they must charge 50 to 80 taka more per kilogram than the regular market rate to cover incidental costs.

Fish can also be cut at the market. Professionals cut fish beside the road at the foot of the Jamalkhan stairs and in Jhautola lane, charging 20 to 60 taka per kilogram depending on the fish. Some buyers also have chickens slaughtered and cut with their help, waiting in a queue for the service.

Vegetable sellers say they must pay tolls of 20, 50 and 100 taka in three installments to sell at this three-hour market. As soon as the sun rises they must leave with their vans. Buying vegetables wholesale, they have no choice but to sell at a small profit, and leafy greens spoil quickly so there is little profit in them.

Some sellers are local to Chattogram and others have come from different districts. Sajan Mia from Brahmanbaria has sold lemons, cucumbers, coriander leaves and green chillies for 11 years; he says he cannot speak the Chattogram dialect fully but understands it all. Md Khalek from Barishal sells vegetables from a van.

Buyers feel both satisfaction and complaints about this market. Retired banker Shamima Rahman says she comes in the morning to avoid the crowds of the big market and can buy fresh fish and vegetables, though traffic on the road and the nuisance of beggars make shopping irritating.

Schoolteacher Jane Alam says that because this short-lived market sits on the road, light traffic jams form in the Jamalkhan and Buddhist temple areas in the morning; children must pass through these areas to reach nearby schools and office-goers are in a hurry to reach their destinations.

Housewife Moushumi Dash often shops at this market on her way home after dropping her child at school in the morning. With her husband busy at the office all day and no time to go to the market, this three-hour market on her route has become her ‘friend in need’, she says.