The cart-wheel industries of Lalpur are on the verge of extinction due to decreasing of demand of wheels, increase of price of production-materials and the low sales price.
Hundreds of artisans of the upazila have already abandoned their paternal profession of cart wheel making and adapted to other professions.
Buffalo carts and Bullock carts have been bearing thousands of years of legacy of rural Bangladesh. The Bhatiali songs sung by bullock-cart drivers (Garoan) are now only a past memory of elderly people.
Visiting of farmers’ with sickles at their hands towards the ripened paddy field early in the morning during the late autumn and their joyful returning home with cartful of harvested paddy is no more seen at the rural areas now-a-days.
Even, visiting of newlywed bridegroom to her husband’s house on a decorated bullock cart through the muddy way is only an imagination now-a-days. The bullock and buffalo carts have been replaced by tractors, harvesters, trucks, microbuses and buses. As a result, the cart remained dumped and obliterated at the courtyard of some rural houses.
Cart-Wheels of Lalpur were once famous throughout the country. More than 1,500 artisans were engaged in making cart-wheels in Palidaha village only. The cart-wheel of Palidaha village was famous all over the country. More than 400-pair of cart wheels were sent to various parts of the country daily through railway wagons from Gopalpur (Now Azim Nagar) railway station. Now the numbers of wheel-cart making artisans have been reduced to nearly 30 who could make only 6 to 10-pair of wheels daily. Shah Alam Selim, a local journalist informed, cart required Bamboo and bullocks to run with. The price of bamboo has been increased and due to shortages of fodder, people are reluctant to rear bullocks for carrying the cart. At the same time, Babla (Acasia) and Khayer (Catechu) trees, woods of which are necessary for preparing cart-wheels, have now become scarce.
He continued, even forty to fifty years ago, river banks of Padma and sidewalks of roads were full with Babla and Khayer trees. Now, the numbers of those trees have been dwindled drastically. Moreover, price of those trees have also been increased abnormally. The tree which was once sold at Tk 50 to 60 is now being sold at Tk 2,000 to 3,000.
The price of wheel-making tools such as Hammer, Chisel and Axe has also been increased beyond the purchasing capacity for the poor artisans. As a result, the cart-wheel artisans of the Upazila are now utterly disappointed. Even after making cart-wheels after days toil and spending a huge sum of money, the artisans often failed to sell the cart-wheel at a reasonable price.
Hujur Ali, a cart-wheel factory owner at Palidaha village informed, the use of bullock carts and buffalo carts have been decreased now-a-days. The demands of wheels have also been reduced. The prices of materials for making wheels have, on the other hand, been increased. Moreover, those materials are scarce as well. 'We have been stick to our ancestral profession somehow because we have no other way to adopt' he mentioned.
