In Dumki Upazila, the arrival of winter is busy with coating; Dhunkar’s winter market has accumulated.

As soon as the first wind of winter blows, the township of Dumki upazila gathers in the festival of making Lep Toshak. The light touch of winter in the air in the morning, along with the tungtang sound of the buskers’ busyness, all together, the message of the arrival of winter has created a new active environment. From the remote villages of the upazila to the haat bazaar everywhere, the winter has been increasing for a few daysThe fumes of making Lep Toshak have fallen. Some are sitting in shops, some are walking on the village roads, removing the old coating and washing the cotton and decorating it as a new one. By the hands of the drummers, the old coating is becoming brand new.

(November 28, 2025) It can be seen that in the upazila, Pirtala Bazar, Rajakhali, Board Office, Kadamtala, Angaria, Kalbard, Lebukhali, Hajir Hat, Kalbari, Talukdar Hat, these marked places are now crowded by customers every day.Cotton cleaning, washing, wrapping and sewing are all seasonal activities of winter.

Dhunkar Kalam Biswas of Sirampur village said, “We work in coating tosh throughout the year. But it is a bit busy at the beginning of winter. This time, the price of cotton and cloth has increased a lot. The cost of making cloth is Tk 50 to 70 per yard, tosh cloth is Tk 55 to Tk 120. Garment cotton is Tk 50 to Tk 160 per kg, and cotton is Tk 400 per kg.Wages of making 300-400 taka, toshaka 250-300 taka. After all this, there is no profit as before.” He also said that instead of making a new coating, many people are now removing the old coating and cleaning the cotton and making it with new cloth. The lower middle class families are leaning towards this path because of the low cost.

In the words of Jharna Begum of Rajakhali village, that reality is also “it takes a lot of money to make a new coating.” So I washed the old coating and mixed some new cotton and made it. In thisThe cost is also low, and the work has been done very well.” On the other hand, the sellers are seeing a different form of the market. Salem, a seller of cotton wool, said, “The price of cotton has increased more than before. Therefore, the price of coating materials is also increasing. As a result, many buyers are now buying blankets instead of coatings. Different types of domestic and foreign blankets are available in the market. Especially since some Chinese blankets are relatively cheap, they are in high demand.”
The winter is growing, and with it the pace is growingDhunkars busyness. Just as there is a need for winter protection, there is also a struggle for livelihood. In the first hours of winter, the seasonal colors, smells and noise of people gather in the shops of Lep Toshak, which returns every year as a special scene of winter in Dumki Upazila.