Reviving The Traditional Trade Culture Of Khatunganj , Chattogram

Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology

Project idea

Khatunganj is the biggest consumer wholesale market in Bangladesh,situated on the banks of the Karnaphuli River along the
Chaktai Canal.

Historically, Khatunganj old street has been a crucial hub for import and export activities in the country. This market has played a vital role in the distribution of food and other goods throughout Bangladesh,
serving as a central point for trade.

Trade & History

Khatunganj's history is rich and commercially significant. It is said that in the 2nd century,Chand Sawdagar, the father of Lakhindar from the
famous Behula-Lakhindar tale,first came to Chittagong from Kolkata
. (Khatunganj was Bangladesh's first river port, but with the change in the river's course, the port's location shifted.)

Chand Sawdagar started the first business in Khatunganj,and thereafter,foreign trade began in Bangladesh.Subsequently,foreign traders who came to do business in Khatunganj started using the title 'Sawdagar' ( Merchants) at the end of their names.

As the Karnaphuli River directly connects to the sea, trade grew rapidly.In the 7th century,Arab Muslim traders arrived in Khatunganj,followed by Turkish,Portuguese,Dutch,and French traders,who established Khatunganj as a commercial center. From the 13th century, being part of the Maritime Silk Route further accelerated trade here.Initially, business was conducted via waterways,but by the 18th century,trade began to be conducted by trucks.

In the British era, in 1842, Sawdagar Hamidullah Khan, who was a British Deputy Collector, wanted to turn Khatunganj into an business hub. Accordingly, he started a business on the land owned by his second wife. His second wife was Khatun Bibi,and he established a trade center there. The area was named Khatunganj after her.

During his time, foreigners employed Bangladeshis as laborers and obtained export-import licenses. Later, from the 1940s, the canal's siltation began, leading to the cessation of boat transport along the canal. Consequently, goods were transported from the river to Khatunganj by trucks or handcarts.

During the Mughal era, the foreign trade centered around Khatunganj significantly contributed to the Worlds GDP. After Bangladesh's independence in 1971, trade centered around Khatunganj accounted for 40 to 50% of the country's GDP. Even 12 years ago, Khatunganj controlled a significant percentage of the country's consumer goods market. Around 2010, daily business transactions in Khatunganj amounted to 2,000 crore BDT. Currently, this has decreased to 500 crore BDT.

In Khatunganj, through successive ages, various types of houses have been built for the purpose of accommodating merchants engaged in maritime trade, whose history is still being explored. Between the 1700s and 1900s, around 18 to 20 structures have been discovered along the narrow streets of Khatunganj. These buildings were originally designed for ground-floor businesses and luxurious residences for the upper floors of merchants. Over time, these structures have deteriorated, necessitating their adaptive reuse as old shop houses."

"To revitalize Khatunganj, it is possible to work with society and culture, economy, and environmental aspects."

Project description

Business in Khatunganj operates based on 3 types:

1. *Delivery Order (D.O. Trading)*: In this type of business, goods are cleared through documentation from the port and import-export activities are conducted via auctions, impacting the domestic share market.

2. *Warehouse Business*: Goods imported from the port or various regions of the country are brought to the warehouse s in khatunganj.
3. *Wholesale shop Business*: Goods from the wholesale shop are taken to various customer or retail markets across the country.

To facilitate these businesses, banks, brokers, securities exchanges, transportation services, labor organizations, various associations, and business operations are involved.

Importers bring goods to the port by ship, and vessels bring goods from various places as well as directly from port ships to a place named Fishery Ghat. Connected to Fishery Ghat, importers retrieve goods from Godown using trucks or rickshaws, which are then taken to Khatunganj Road.
Additionally, goods are transported directly from ships to Khatunganj or various locations in the country via trucks. However, for this purpose, documents such as Delivery Order (D.O.) letters or Delivery Order documents need to be collected from Khatunganj.

Decisions for design interventions are made based on site visits and information from various sources, such as:

1. Decisions are made to exclude vulnerable buildings and propose new buildings based on the structure map and vulnerable map.
2. New buildings are proposed by excluding temporary or makeshift structures.
3. Decisions to work on government land are made by identifying government and private land from the ownership map.
4. Old buildings are retrofitted or repurposed with new programs for adaptive reuse
8.
To prevent waterlogging on the site and make canals suitable for boat transportation for both goods delivery and recreational purposes, it is essential to recover the canals and perform surface treatments. This involves:

1. Clearing encroachments and obstacles from the canals to restore proper flow.
2. Treating the canal surfaces to improve water quality, drainage efficiency, and navigability.
3. Ensuring the canals are maintained to facilitate uninterrupted water flow, thereby preventing water accumulation and waterlogging on the site.
4. Developing facilities to support boat traffic for the transportation of goods.
5. Creating amenities to support recreational boating.

Existing Problem

A 30-foot narrow street becomes unsuitable for movement due to heavy traffic. Each hour, 30 trucks and 50 carts arrive and stop to load and unload goods. Vehicles must rely on others to complete their tasks before moving. All types of vehicles use the same road, causing congestion. Each truck takes 40 minutes to load/unload, and trucks over 13 tons are restricted by the government. This makes water transport a timely solution to accelerate market flow.

Proposal for Solving the Problem

1. Convert Khatunganj into a Textured Road: Make it pedestrian-friendly and suitable for slow-moving vehicles. Restrict truck access.
2. Loading/Unloading Sheds: Propose sheds on both sides of the street according to the zoning character of the market to free the old street from truck traffic and loading/unloading activities.
3. Truck Circulation: Ensure trucks maintain circulation based on their zoned locations for efficient loading/unloading.
4. Use Carts for Transport: Use carts to transport goods from each loading/unloading point to their respective warehouses.
5. Minimize Private Land Use: Reduce private land use for loading/unloading zones in the lower part of Khatunganj Old Street.
6. Recover Government Land: Recover government or occupied land in the upper part to create loading/unloading points and provide proper solutions for market development.
7. Back Road for Warehouses: Make Khatunganj Old Street suitable for buyers and sellers by removing trucks, proposing a back road for warehouses for loading/unloading, goods transport, and worker movement.
8. Establish Water Transport Points: Establish points for transporting goods via waterways. A 50-ton boat can transport more goods in less time compared to trucks.

Truck Traffic Regulation

1. Assign Serial Numbers: Each truck will receive a serial number to determine its loading/unloading point and time.
2. Parking and Waiting: If the loading/unloading point is full, the truck will wait in a designated

Technical information

For old buildings, five design types or strategies are considered from categories like old and new or old-old to re-adapt the entire Khatunganj area.

Pitambar Shah is a famous herb store in the whole country that has been running since the 18th century.

For retrofitting, the facade of the shop is treated outside without obstructing the internal operations, and some setting spaces are arranged there to complement or serve. It is said about Pitambar Sah that there is nothing that cannot be found in this shop. Even tiger's milk is available at Pitambar. Every day, many customers from different parts of the country come to this shop to buy various herbs, tea, ayurvedic items, or daily necessities.

For the master plan or revitalization, the primary consideration was the context of the area, the local culture, and traditional storylines. Based on these, certain strategies were followed for the master planning to ensure they are useful for future generations.

1. *Modular Strategy*: Warehouses are placed towards the service road so that goods can be transported to the warehouse from the service road. Therefore, cargo lifts, fire safety stairs, and ramps have been used inside the warehouses. The warehouses have been made modular with the same dimensions, allowing a person to take one warehouse, two adjacent warehouses, or the entire floor if desired.
2. *Design of New Buildings*: The design of the new buildings has been made to harmonize with the context. For this, the form generation has considered old-style buildings, which include:
- Open stairs
- Arch shapes
- Exposed columns
- Trusses to merge with modern-day architecture
- Brick perforated materials
- Humidity control materials
- Industrial seating to collect rainwater.
3. *Recreational Purpose by the Canal*: The warehouse buildings by the canal have been designed for recreational purposes with retail spaces for herb stores, spice retails, antique shops, and cafes. Additionally, pedestrian-friendly areas with kiosks have been provided by the canal, which can serve as food carts, rest areas for laborers, or seating areas at various times.
4. *Flood Management Strategy*: Certain strategies have been followed to prevent water from rising on the site during heavy rainfall and tidal fluctuations.