Cold cuts bike drivers' business

Rental motorbike drivers in the district are suffering due to acute shortage of passengers for the bitter cold.

About 3,000 motorbike drivers depend on the profession for their livelihood, said Sayedul Islam, a driver of Jhalakathi College Intersection area.

“I am waiting at the stand till afternoon from early in the morning for the passengers but didn't find any one. I have to pay Tk 200 to the bike owner as rent every day,” said Mizanur Rahman of Bagri Bus Stand in Rajapur.

“I bought some daily essentials and medicine for my old mother, borrowing money at high interest rate,” said Barkat of Rajapur Bipas Stand, adding that they sometimes had to pass the days with little food.

A bike driver earns Tk 400 to Tk 600 a day but in the bitter cold the income is much less and not enough to maintain a family, he said.

“I do not use motorbikes nowadays due to the bitter cold although I am a regular passenger,” said Nurul Alam, a member of Ranapasha Union Parishad in Nalchhity.