Palm trees in Dhaka, pure juice to match!

Dhaka: The date palm, which has a close relationship with winter. In winter, sweet juice and molasses are available from the traditional date palms of rural Bengal.

There are no pair of dates like fruit. Who doesn’t love eating murdi with date molasses in the sweet winter sun?

The winter season has started. Rural trees are now busy collecting date palm sap. The trees are preparing the sap from the date palms before winter sets in. At the same time, the value of neglected trees has increased. The trees are busy collecting juice from the date palm with a rope around the waist and a sharp knife in hand.

However, not only in the village, but also in the brick and stone town of Dhaka’s Magbazar area, a tree named Khalil Mia (65) from Gazaria village of Faridpur District Bhanga Police Station cut down date palms and sold juice. For 30 years, he cut date palms in winter and sold juice. It’s three o’clock. Old Khalil Mia was walking on the sidewalk of the Capital Officers Club. In the busiest city, when everyone runs out of the village to work or trade, he rushes from Faridpur every year to cut palm trees for three months. He worked in the village for the remaining 9 months. He has seven relatives. Oldest son has passed SSC, youngest son is in eighth grade. The other three are studying in primary school.

Speaking to old man Khalil Miah, he is known to cut 40-42 date palms in the area around the Peyarabagh railway line in Moghbazar every year. He cut 36 trees. Most of the trees are in government neighborhoods and around the line. Every day, he sells 18-20 liters of the tree’s juice to the owner of the tree at half price in the houses of great entrepreneurs and ministers. Last year he sold it at 120 rupees a liter and this year he has set it at 150 rupees. Khalil Mia told banglanews: “I used to cut date palms in the village, but I didn’t have a pet. Because the juice couldn’t be sold and my family wouldn’t have money for rice if they sold molasses using fuel. That is why I have been coming to Dhaka City for the past 30 years to cut date palms and sell juice. There is a juice pre-order here and by the grace of Allah I will never have to suffer in any way. Everyone is happy to drink the juice here. I have been ordering my juice 10-15 days in advance. Periodically I go to Sir’s house and come myself with the juice. So far I have not found any defect in my juice and I will not have it for the rest of my life InshaAllah.

When asked if he had to face any problems while cutting date palms in the heart of the capital, Khalil Mia said: “Sometimes I drink a lot of tree sap at night, I don’t think so because those incidents used to happen in the villages too.” .

He said: “I am fine for the remaining nine months with the money I have left for three months, excluding the cost of renting the seat and food for 1500 rupees a month. By the grace of God I am well at home in the village with my children”. But I won’t be able to do this hard work for long! Because I am so old, my hands and feet burn after sleeping at night, I am just working hard to make children look human and make them human, everyone will pray for me.

Bangladesh time: 1032 hours, January 2, 2021
GMM / NT