Winter is beginning to make its presence felt in Jhalakathi, with cooler evenings, early mornings and nights signalling a seasonal change in the southern district.
Light fog has started appearing over quiet roads and rural paths after sunset.
Although the cold is not yet as intense as in previous years, residents have begun preparing for winter.
Ahead of the season, customers are visiting the Tulapatti and Dunuripara areas of Jhalakathi town to have old quilts, mattresses and pillows repaired or order new ones.
Craftsmen in the areas are busy making and repairing bedding as demand begins to pick up.
The activity was observed on Thursday morning.
At local markets, a quilt measuring 4 feet by 5 feet and weighing 6kg sells for Tk1,800–1,900.
A mattress measuring 4.5 feet by 5.5 feet and made with 16kg of cotton costs around Tk2,300.
Shimul cotton sells for Tk450 per kg.
Customers can also order cotton according to their preferred quality and requirements.
However, craftsmen say their wages remain low despite the labour involved in making quilts and mattresses.
They receive only Tk350 for making a quilt measuring 4.5 feet and weighing 6kg, a job that takes considerable time.
They are paid Tk400 for making a mattress measuring 4 feet by 5 feet and weighing 16kg.
The craftsmen say the payments are inadequate for the work involved.
A customer said he had ordered two new mattresses and brought old pillows for repair as part of his preparations for winter.
He said prices had not increased significantly compared with his previous purchase and remained reasonable given current market conditions.
Mohammad Khalid bin Alam, owner of Alam & Sons Saudi Bed Supply, said many customers were already preparing for winter by ordering new quilts and mattresses or bringing old bedding in for repairs.
“Jhalakathi has not experienced much cold yet. However, many people are already making new quilts and mattresses as an early preparation. Others are bringing their old quilts, mattresses and pillows for repairs. We expect the number of customers to increase as the weather gets colder,” he said.
He added that prices had remained unchanged, although the number of customers was somewhat lower than before.
He expected sales to improve as winter advanced.
