Special sale ends in chaos as thousands queue up to buy cheap eggs in Dhaka

A special egg sale in Dhaka has ended in chaos after police scuffled with people who formed disorderly queues, surprising organisers by turning up in the thousands.

Faisal Atikbdnews24.com
Published : 13 Oct 2017, 09:01 AM
Updated : 13 Oct 2017, 06:20 PM

The sale aimed to mark World Egg Day on Friday and was jointly organised by the Department of Livestock Services and the Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council or BPICC.

The prospect of buying an egg for just Tk 3 attracted thousands, who began queuing up in front of the Krishibid Institution at Khamarbarhi from 7am. The market price for a single egg is above Tk 8.

Their presence prompted the organisers to start the egg sale at 9am, an hour before schedule.

By that time, the queues of people carrying empty containers, even buckets and burlap sacks, stretched beyond the Bijoy Sarani intersection.

The organisers had announced that up to 90 eggs would be sold to an individual buyer, causing people of various ages and professions to respond with enthusiasm.

But the organisers, who advertised the sale on newspapers and created a Facebook event, said they were not prepared for the crowds that soon turned erratic.

The police responded by charging baton, starting a scuffle that halted the sale around 10am, when it was originally set to start.

People waiting restlessly in the queues eventually pushed down the egg sale's main platform outside KIB auditorium, destroying many eggs in the process.

The organisers apologised for the 'unwanted' situation, but the people who came to buy eggs were not happy.

They took position on the street from Khamarbarhi to Farmgate and demonstrated for hours.

Police diverted traffic from the street to control the situation.

When the organisers announced the closure of the 'sale' and said sorry on a loudspeaker, the demonstrators raised slogans like: "Fake, Fake", "Try the egg thief", "We want egg, we want justice".

Sabina Sultana, a homemaker from Paltan, said she came to buy the eggs after seeing 'huge publicity' on national and social media.

"I haven't seen anyone buy any eggs. Then where have all the eggs gone?" she asked.

"It's all a hoax. They have cheated the people," she added.

Biswajit Roy, the spokesperson for the organisers, told bdnews24.com that they brought 100,000 eggs for sale. 

Roy, a member of the BPICC, said the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh sells essentials at Khamarbarhi point under the Open Market Sale programme for the low-income people.

"We had thought some more customers would come along with the regular customers of the TCB to buy the eggs," he said.   

"But we were startled by the huge number of people that turned up in the morning. It's right that we couldn't give them eggs, but egg had its publicity campaign."

"We are sorry. But I will not say that we've failed," he added.

The Council's President Mashiur Rahman said in a statement on Facebook that they wanted to spread the message that egg is a nutritious food and all should consume it.

"We wanted to provide the people, especially those with low income, with egg at a lower price so that they can buy at least a month's requirement for their family," he said.

Mashiur said they were not going back on their promise to sell eggs at a cheaper rate.

They will organise a similar sale later after discussions, he added.