Indian village fair gives new lease of life to electronic scrap

Thousands of villagers in West Bengal flock to a winter e-waste fair to buy used electronics at reduced costs, bridging the digital divide in rural areas.

Thousands of villagers in West Bengal flock every year to a winter e-waste fair, hoping to buy used phones, laptops and household electronic goods for a bargain.

Samar Halder, a 63-year-old farmer, bought a used phone for ₹1,700 for his grandson from the “Bhanga Mela”, as the fair is called, in Mathurapur, about 65 km south of the State capital of Kolkata.

“He will use it to study,” Mr. Halder said. “I just sold crops worth ₹1,750, came with it and bought this phone to give him as a gift ... I hope it will work.”

India’s society is undergoing rapid digital transformation but the benefits are not equally shared. Access to technology remains out of the reach of people in large parts of rural areas, where a majority of the world’s most populous countries live. The fair offers a range of used gadgets and household goods at far reduced costs to new ones and provides an avenue for abandoned items to be reused and recycled.

On average, the price of a new smartphone in India is nearly ₹25,000 up from ₹16,000-17,000 before the pandemic, said Navkendar Singh, analyst, IDC.

In comparison, used phones at the fair cost between ₹1,500 and ₹5,000. Mr.Singh expects the market for used smartphones to only get bigger as new phone prices rise. Sellers at the fair usually collect electronic gadgets and goods from scrap dealers, repair and sell them.

“I cannot guarantee if all the phones you are seeing here will work, but the ones I guarantee will definitely work (and) cost more,” seller Sirajul Laskar said, adding people even buy ones he cannot promise will work. It’s a chance many poor buyers seem willing to take.