Bangladesh is a riverine country on the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, the largest delta on earth. Thus, hundreds of rivers flow through the country, making waterways an important route of communication and transportation in Bangladesh. Although many rivers in northern Bangladesh are only navigable during the monsoon season, most rivers in southern Bangladesh are navigable all year round.
In southern Bangladesh, trade and commerce, as well as transportation of agricultural commodities rely heavily on waterways. Farmers transport their agricultural products on their boats through rivers and canals, also the traders carry their goods using motorised boats. This has led to the formation of multiple floating markets across the region, where both the buyers and sellers ride on boats to do the trade.
Currently, the floating markets of the Swarupkathi subdistrict of Pirojpur district and Jhalakathi district are quite well known across Bangladesh. The Atghar-Kuriana and Bhimruli floating markets attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. These markets are mainly farmersâ markets, where farmers bring their agricultural products on small dingy boats to the wholesalers waiting in large, motorised boats.
Although these markets are quite photogenic and attractive from a tourism perspective, if we look at them from a business perspective, these floating markets offer very few varieties of products. Mainly guava and hog-plum are sold in these markets, only during the three months in the monsoon season. However, there are other floating markets in the region, which have diversity in the products and goods that are sold in the market. The floating market of Boithakata is such a market.
Boithakata Floating Market is a weekly farmersâ market that sits on the confluence of the Belua River and a canal by the east and south sides of the Boithakata Bazar in the Nazirpur subdistrict of Pirojpur district. This farmersâ market sits entirely on water twice a week, on Saturdays and Tuesdays. In Bangla, these weekly markets are called âHaatâ, and the days on which the weekly market sits are called âHaat daysâ.
Farmers from three subdistricts- Nazirpur and Swarupkathi of Pirojpur district and Banaripara of Barisal district bring their agricultural products here on boats for sale. Again, wholesale buyers from different parts of the country come here to buy goods. The market sits after sunrise and breaks up at about 9-11 a.m. depending upon the amount of trading.
I visited the market on 26 December 2023. My journey began at 6 a.m. from my maternal uncleâs home in Swarupkathi. It was supposed to take 45 minutes to reach the market but since it was very early in the morning (the sun rises after 6:40 a.m. in late December), I had difficulties finding transportation on the village roads. So I was able to reach the vicinity of the floating market at 7:30 a.m.
It was a foggy morning. I couldnât see things clearly which were 50 meters away. But even through this thick fog, farmers were coming to the market on dingy boats with fresh vegetables, seedlings, flower saplings and many other goods to sell. After observing the boats and taking photos for a while from a bridge on a canal, I rode on a trawler which ferried me through the canal and then across the Belua river, to Bothakata Bazar.
While crossing the river, I could observe the floating market closely. Farmers were rowing their boats and rafting the boats along the motorized boats of the wholesale buyers to sell their goods. I noticed the variety of goods which represented the diversity of agricultural production in the region.
After reaching Boithakata bazar, I found it difficult to see the floating market from this side of the river due to fog. I had to take a boat or trawler to get to the other side of the river to see the market closely. But I couldnât find a boat to hire, since everyone had their boat to carry their goods, and no one was carrying passengers. Again, hiring a trawler was expensive since I was travelling solo. So, I decided to roam around the Bazar on the land.
On the south side of the bazar, I found another portion of the floating market, it was a floating rice market. Wholesale buyers were walking from one boat to another and talking with the sellers to purchase rice. It was a unique scene to see. Although this market is not so picturesque compared to the floating markets of Atghar-Kuriana and Bhimruli, on every âhaat dayâ about 1 crore taka (close to 100,000 USD) worth of goods change hands in the Boithakata floating market.
After selling their goods, the farmers come to the Boithakata Bazar on the bank of the Belua River to have breakfast and buy their necessities. I also had breakfast in a local restaurant. After having breakfast, I went to the riverside to check out the floating market again. Only a handful of farmersâ boats rafted along a single merchant boat at that time. It was 9:30 a.m. and the floating market was over. Farmers were returning to their homes on boats under the foggy sky, and I decided to head back too.
Due to the foggy weather, it was difficult to capture clear pictures of the floating market. So I am sharing a YouTube video, which has a clearer view with beautiful drone shots of the floating market.
Check out Sadman Rafidâs review of Baithakata Floating Market on Google Maps!
I posted a 1-minute Facebook reel video with the scenes of the floating market that I captured myself. It will give you an idea of how dense the fog was that day.
Thanks for reading! 
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Have you visited a floating market before? Share your experience in the comments! 
