MATHURAPUR (Reuters) – Thousands of villagers in the eastern Indian state of 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 rupees ($20) for his grandson from the "Bhanga Mela", as the fair is called, in Mathurapur, about 65 km (40 miles) south of the state capital of Kolkata.
"He will use it to study," Halder said. "I just sold crops worth 1,750 (rupees), 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 country lives.
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 rupees, up from 16,000-17,000 rupees before the COVID-19 pandemic, Navkendar Singh, an analyst at IDC, said.
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In comparison, used phones at the fair cost between 1,500 and 5,000 rupees. Singh expects the market for used smartphones to only get bigger as new phone prices rise.
"I am a BA (Bachelor of Arts) first-year student, but I am interested in coding and learned it from YouTube on mobile," said Najim Hussain, who bought a used laptop for 7,000 rupees from the fair to practise coding.
Sellers at the fair usually collect electronic gadgets and goods from scrap dealers, repair them and sell them at the fair.
"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 that people even buy ones he cannot promise will work.
It's a chance many poor buyers seem willing to take.
Ashraf Sardar, who visits the fair every year to find parts to repair his old household appliances, said: "We cannot throw away household items easily like rich people."