Rajshahi, Oct 30 (V7N) – High liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices and a persistent gas shortage are forcing many households and small businesses in Rajshahi to return to traditional firewood for cooking, reviving a practice many had left behind.

As demand for alternative fuel grows, firewood businesses have expanded across Rajshahi city and surrounding areas. Markets and wholesale outlets have emerged in locations including Kashiadanga, Amchattar, Katakhali and Nao Hata.

According to local traders, more than 50 firewood outlets are currently operating across the city. Each outlet sells firewood worth an average of at least Tk 10,000 a day.

Based on these estimates, daily firewood sales across Rajshahi amount to around Tk 5 lakh, equivalent to approximately Tk 1.5 crore a month.

Low- and middle-income families are among those turning to firewood as the rising cost of LPG cylinders puts pressure on household budgets. Many are reportedly returning to traditional clay stoves to keep cooking costs manageable.

Amjad Hossain, a firewood trader in the Kashiadanga area, said his outlet sells around 25 to 30 maunds of firewood daily, with transactions exceeding Tk 10,000.

He said the unusually high cost of gas had forced many people to buy firewood, including families that previously relied regularly on gas for cooking.

The growing demand is not limited to households. Hotels and restaurants across the city are also using firewood to prepare food.

Wood from dead mango trees, as well as shishu, mahogany, akashmoni and eucalyptus trees, is particularly popular among buyers.

Trader Mahbubul Alam said hotels and restaurants in different parts of the city purchase these types of firewood, while household customers also buy according to their needs.

Rajshahi's traditional kalai roti business is another major source of demand. Firewood has long been used to prepare the region's popular black gram flatbread, which, according to local traders, cannot be made in the traditional way using modern gas stoves.

Khairun Nessa, who has been selling kalai roti in front of the city's Court Building for years, said she buys firewood at Tk 600 per maund to prepare the bread.

She said the high price of gas was also making firewood an increasingly important option for ordinary people like her.

The growing dependence on firewood highlights the financial pressure that rising cooking fuel costs are placing on households and small businesses. Traders say demand has increased as more consumers seek alternatives to LPG and piped gas.

The situation has also revived concerns over the affordability and availability of cooking fuel, with many residents relying on traditional wood-burning stoves to meet their daily needs.

END/MRA/SMA/