Hartal, blockad leave them without work
Chobi Begum, 38, who works as a day labourer, was squatting disconsolately on the roadside at Mirpur-1 for hours, trying to cover herself as much as she could to fend off the morning chill while peering through the dense fog. She was hoping to see a familiar face, that of a contractor who would hire her. She had been hoping for a long time she would be hired for doing odd jobs, such as working as a helper at construction sites in and around this city suburb, where the construction of many buildings has been suspended midway. But no such luck.
“I am a mother of three children between five and 10 years of age. My husband abandoned me two years go. I am the only breadwinner for my family. If I fail to manage to get a job for the day, me and my children would have to go without food,” Chobi said in a choked voice, fighting back her tears.
Like her, another day labourer Billal Hossain, 50, was also waiting at Azimpur area. Squatting glum-faced with others on the pavement next to their baskets and spades, he had not been hired for two successive days.
“My 10-year-old boy wanted to be admitted to a school near the slum we live in at Islambagh, Lalbagh. He wanted new shirts and shoes. But I have no money. I don’t know what I’ll do. Should I go begging or mugging?” the middle-aged man wondered.
The countrywide hartals and blockades have badly affected indigent day labourers like Chobi and Billal, whose livelihoods have been battered by the volatile political situation. They find it difficult to make ends meet as they have not been hired for days. This has forced them to live on credit from the corner shops. But how long can they do so, they ask.
Visiting different city areas like Mirpur, Gabtali and Azimpur, scores of day labourers, including women, could be seen sitting idle with their baskets and spades on the pavements, awaiting work that did not come.
Many waited for hours for the contractors or their supervisors, who generally take them to different work sites, paying Tk. 300 to Tk. 400 for carrying out construction, earthworks, filling and cutting, removing rubbish or garbage, loading and unloading goods from trucks, and household work.
Talking to several contractors and labourers as to why they were sitting idle, they replied in unison that all kinds of work, including construction, have been suspended as a result of the continuous hartal and blockade programmes. Builders and contractors have suspended work.
Sukur Ali, a 45-year-old day labourer who was working at the Gabtali landing station area, told The Independent, “There is no food at my residence. I have two children. I am working now in defiance of the hartal as I have to earn my livelihood.”
When he was asked if he was afraid of getting injured in bombings, fire bombings and police gunfire, which usually accompany attacks on the streets during sudden demonstrations or picketing, he replied, “I am not bothered about any attack, including the Molotov cocktails (improvised explosive devises or IEDs) or petrol bombs. I need food for my family to survive. I have managed to get a job to unload coal from the cargo vessel after two days.”
Atahar Ali, a labour contractor, said most of the builders have suspended construction as construction materials are not available. Prices of materials have spurted as supplies are scarce in the wake of the political turmoil, topped by the blockade programme. Day labourers have fallen on hard times and are somehow surviving with their families, he said.
Day labourers live hand-to-mouth and they have no savings, he pointed out. He urged the government to help poor people like him with free food.
Courtesy of The Independent
