Printing shops in the Sylhet city are up to their ears in work,
bringing out posters, leaflets and others polls related materials as
the city corporation elections are drawing closer.
Market sources said the owners and employees of the publishing houses
in the city are now working round the clock for meeting the demand of
their clients since Monday noon after the election symbols of
candidates were allotted.
A total of 174 aspirants, including 3 mayoral, 136 general ward
councillor and 35 female councillor for reserved wards, are vying
against the one mayoral post, 27 general ward councilor posts and 9
ward councilor posts reserved for female in the SCC elections
scheduled to be held on June 15, sources in the returning office said.
Sources in the Qudrat Ullah Market at Bandarbazar, Muktijoddha Lane
and Raja Mansion at Zindabazar and City Market and known as the
printing hubs in the city, said employees of most of the printing
shops were being compelled to work whole night to deliver to the
clients election-related materials.
City markets Marit ofset Press owner Salim Ahmed said each and every
printing and publishing shop in the city got orders, more or less, to
print banners, posters and leaflets to be used in electioneering and
mini posters or badges for the activists who participate in the
campaigns.
‘The printing houses, which are reputed for goodwill and quality of
their products, are experiencing heavy rush of clients,’ he added.
The incumbent councillor of SCC ward 22, Suhel Ahmed, also a candidate
for the same post in the upcoming election, said he had to get
delivery of 5,000 posters from a printing shop in three phases.
‘The shop owner could not deliver the posters at a time as he had to
manage his other clients at the same time,’ he said.
Abbas Ali, owner of Computer at City Market, said they were facing an
extreme pressure of works and it would continue till the first week of
this month (June). ‘After then, the busyness will gradually come
down,’ he observed.
Akota Press owner Shakhe Kamal, however, claimed that the pressure on
the printing shops would mount further to produce badges containing
the election symbols of respective candidates in the next two to three
more days before the voting day.
(Our Correspondent)
