Lockdown means destitution for them

When the Maksud Bedding Store in Dhaka’s Nilkhet area is open, Monir, an employee of the retail outlet, could make about Tk 400 for each day’s work.

But ever since the store was shuttered on June 28 ahead of the ongoing hard lockdown, his income has hit zero.

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That day, Monir was handed Tk 1,000 by his employer to buy daily necessities but that money has since been exhausted, forcing him to borrow from friends to survive.

“I bought rice, lentils, edible oil, and vegetables with the money, which will help us manage for five days at best but don’t know what to do next,” he said.

Following the recent surge in coronavirus cases, the government decided to impose a week-long strict lockdown across the country from July 1.

As such, all non-essential businesses were asked to suspend operations for the time being.

When the economy was open, Monir would roam the capital’s residential areas with his spinning bow and other materials to find customers looking to buy or repair a quilt, pillow or blanket.

During the pre-pandemic time, he could bring home about Tk 800 daily from this work but things took a drastic turn for the worse after the Covid-19 outbreak last year, when Maksud Bedding Store was forced to comply with a two-month shutdown between April-May.

After the store reopened, Monir could earn just Tk 200 to Tk 300 per day and although his income gradually recovered to an extent, the relief did not last long thanks to the repeated restrictions imposed to curb the deadly pathogen.

The most recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections in March this year and subsequent restriction on public movement has again laid waste to the livelihoods of people like Monir, his colleagues Abdul Halim and Rabiul Islam, and others involved with the bedding industry.

In the face of dwindling income in 2020, Monir had to borrow Tk 40,000 from one of his relatives with a high interest rate to bear his monthly expenses.

He needs Tk 6,000 per month to buy groceries and other essentials for his family and Tk 4,000 for house rent.

Monir is yet to repay this loan while the high interest is only piling onto the principal amount.

Other artisans and workers in the industry have faced a similar struggle ever since the pandemic hit Bangladesh with the recurrent shutdowns and economic slowdown having significantly affected the demand for bedding items.

Before the pandemic began, official and unofficial bedding businesses would collectively register nearly Tk 1,000 crore in annual sales but soon after the advent of Covid-19, demand slumped by around half.

Like other industries, bedding businesses usually register good sales around the two Eid festivals but with both holidays having been marred by Covid-19 restrictions in 2020 and the same likely to happen this year, sales are sure to take a hit.

“Our business was improving but now I am in a lot of trouble due to the lockdown measures,” said a frustrated Kabir Ahmed, owner of Maksud Bedding Store.

“I do not know how I will be able to keep the business running,” he added.

Ahmed had to borrow Tk 5 lakh to resume his business last year. He has paid back just Tk 1.5 lakh of the amount since then and also owes three months’ rent for the store.

“I do not think the government will allow any shop to open before the Eid so in this situation, it appears tough times are ahead,” he said.

Besides, another concern for small-scale bedding store owners like Ahmed is that more and more large firms are joining the industry.

“We cannot make finished products like they can through machines and many customers prefer those machine-made bedding items,” he added.

A number of large corporations such as Swan Group, Zaber & Zubair Fabrics, Karmo Group, Bengal Group of Industries and Pran-RFL are engaged in the bedding industry.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing at Pran-RFL Group, said business is not very good at the moment because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Our sales have dropped by around 30 per cent,” Kamal added.

For people like Monir and his colleagues at other stores, the downturn in business and continued shuttering of outlets mean increasing hardship.

“I do not see anything but bleak days ahead if the situation does not improve,” said Monir, who lives in a small rented residence with three children and his spouse at Kamrangirchar, nearly four kilometres southwest from his workplace.