The burnt-out vehicles of Chhatra League men at Kajirhat in Chittagong. Hefajat-e Islam activists torched these bikes after they swooped on a BCL rally. Photo: Banglarchokh
It was a scorching hot day yesterday, and Mohammad Masud stood at what is typically a bustling spot in the capital’s Motijheel with a heap of peanuts.
But there was hardly anyone to buy peanuts from him.
“This is the usual scene on hartal days,” Masud says.
The sole breadwinner of a family of six who live in Kishoreganj, Masud last remitted them Tk 2,000 two months back.
“I have been receiving constant reminders to send money, but I don’t have enough. The business has been terrible of late.”
The back to back shutdowns enforced by the BNP and its allies in the past two months are to blame.
On regular working days, Masud’s sales amount to Tk 1,000-1,100 on average, but during shutdowns his takings drop sharply. His combined sales on two hartal days — Monday and Tuesday — were of Tk 650.
Masud’s is not an isolated story, but the narrative of the plight of some 23.97 lakh hawkers and street vendors, according to an estimate of Bangladesh Chhinnomul Hawkers Samity.
According to Kamal Siddiki, president of the association, shutdowns reduce hawkers’ takings by around 35 percent.
The violent nature of the hartals this time round scares people away. They do not venture out unless necessary, let alone stop by to purchase items off roadside vendors.
In a bid to lure in customers on hartal days, Mohammad Rubel, a menswear seller at Motijheel, resorted to selling garments at lower prices, sacrificing his margins.
The fire service vehicle which was also set ablaze as it tried to douse the fire. Photo: Banglarchokh
“We have some fixed costs even if we do not open the store. If we can make some sales, we can at least make up part of that cost,” said Sagor Hossain, another menswear hawker at Motijheel.
He cited the obligation to pay tolls regularly, along with charges for using a warehouse and a light bulb.
Over at Gulistan that usually buzzes with hawkers and pedestrians, street vendors were found sitting idle in the afternoon.
“Because of the consistent hartals, my sales have been deplorably bad,” said Mohammad Gaus Farazi, a hawker whose income is tied to the number of T-shirts he sells.
Depending on prices, he gets Tk 5-10 as commission per piece from the owner.
Farazi takes home about Tk 400-500 on sales of T-shirts worth Tk 5,000-6,000 on normal days.
His sales receipts plummet to Tk 1,500-2,000 on hartal days, earning him Tk 150-180 at the end of the day. Of the amount, he has to spend Tk 110 daily for bus fare and lunch.
The scene is almost identical for street vendors in front of Chandni Chawk Market.
In the absence of customers in their makeshift shops, hawkers were seen talking to each other to kill time.
“Although we open our shops during hartals, we hardly have any sales,” said Mohammed Shohag, a womenswear seller.
The roadside vendor sells garments of around Tk 10,000 daily, but on hartal days it comes down to Tk 2,000-3,000, he said.
He gets a flat Tk 300 per day as remuneration from his owner.
“But I am worried if he [the owner] will be able to pay my salary this month.”
Source: The Daily Star
