Published: 12:19 AM, 14 April 2026
Traders hope to regain momentum during this year's Pahela Baishakh sales
This year small and medium entrepreneurs are optimistic that they will be able to attract customers after two years of doldrums . -Collected
The traditional and longstanding festivities and amusement of Pahela Baishakh have bounced back after long two years. Since August 2024, the cultural arena across Bangladesh was going through a perilous period when mob outfits burned and demolished cultural institutions in Dhaka city and in some other parts of Bangladesh. Several showbiz stars were arrested by the immediate past interim government which was heavily influenced by religious extremists.
Mob gangsters set fire on Udichi office and Chhayanaut in December 2025 and the offices of prominent newspapers Prothom Alo and The Daily Star were burned at the same time. Bauls (troubadours) were assaulted in many places. Attacks were launched on women over and over again which have gone viral on social media.
Cultural programs were stopped by radical groups in some districts frequently. Some cultural luminaries including famed actors, models, poets, painters and academic scholars were imprisoned by the interim government and some of them are still inside jail. Under these circumstances, the sale of traditional commodities suffered a nosedive during 2024 and 2025 during Pahela Baishakh. Even restrictions were imposed on the Pahela Baishakh celebrations last two years.
However, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won the 13th parliamentary elections held on 12 February 2026. A ray of hope has lighted up the horizon among commercial assemblages in Bangladesh in both urban and rural areas. This year traders hope that they will be able to attract customers in Baishakhi fairs across Bangladesh and can make a sound amount of earnings from the visitors of these fairs and exhibitions which are held on account of Pahela Baishakh.
