Dhanbad: Dhanbad city of Jharkhand is quite famous. At the same time, the old market of Dhanbad city still persists with its historical identity. This market, one of the busiest and popular markets of the city, is considered to be about 150 years old. The history of this market built during the British rule is very interesting. Old Singh Darwaza and Maa Kali Temple are witnesses of its past, which keep the identity of this place alive even today.
Main market for the British
Sohrab Khan, a shopkeeper here, says that the form of the old market emerged in 1910 after the construction of Linksey Club and Linksey Market. A British official had named this market Linksay Market, because at that time the British used to buy fruits, vegetables and meat and fish here. Later, around 1942, shops of clothes, shoes and daily use items started opening in English buildings. Gradually this market became the center of needs of common people. Today this market is considered to be the most favorable market for middle class families. Readymade garments, footwear, cosmetics, puja material, jewellery, vegetables, fruits, grocery and every household item is easily available here under one roof. During festivals, the splendor of the old market is worth seeing.
Rauf Mian’s estate was Purana Bazar
Ration shopkeeper Nitin Takkar says that even before independence, this market was known as ‘Old Bazaar’. At that time, this area was the property of Rauf Mian and it was he who gave this area a commercial character by settling the traders here. He tells that his family has been running a shop in this market since 1957 and in 2002 they shifted their shop to the main road.
On the other hand, drug businessman Vimal Khaitan recalls that earlier the route to the petrol pump in Dhanbad also passed through this market. At that time there was no big market in Hirapur or other areas. This was the place where people from areas like Hazaribagh, Giridih, Nirsa, Kalubathan, Pradhankhund and Chandankiyari used to come to shop.
7 thousand traders active in old market
According to Chamber President Sohrab Khan, today about two to two and a half thousand shops and five to seven thousand traders are active in Purana Bazaar. This market remains open from 7 am to 12 midnight. Here one can easily find various items from entire Eastern India including Chinese lights, Bangladeshi lungi-kurta, woolen clothes from Ludhiana, slippers from Kolhapur and cheap clothes from Kolkata. Complete shopping from wedding to funeral is possible here in just a few hours.
Lack of facilities in old market
However, despite being such an old and important market, lack of facilities is also a big problem of this market. Sohrab Khan says that till date not a single proper public toilet has been arranged here, due to which the customers, especially women, have to face problems. At the same time, to control traffic chaos, a police assistance center has also been set up by the chamber. Now a policeman is stationed here, so that uncontrolled entry of three-wheeler and four-wheelers can be stopped and customers can shop comfortably.
Overall, this old market of Dhanbad is not only a center of trade but also a strong base for the history, culture and economic activities of the city. This market is becoming more prosperous with time.
