They too join TCB queues
Even a month ago, small trader Didar Hossain had quite a decent life.
He would supply construction materials to contractors, and work as a newspaper distributor on the side.
While his combined income wasn't great, Didar, in his early 40s, was able to eke out a reasonable living for his eight-member family at a rented house in Nandipara area of Bashabo.
Then came the coronavirus outbreak in the country and the announcement of a shutdown. Like everyone else, Didar stocked up on essentials to last a month. He also kept some cash in hand for emergencies.
After over a month going by, however, with no income, Didar is feeling the pinch. Last week, he had to go out to buy subsidised food items at an open truck of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), as his stock of food had begun to dwindle.
"For the first time in my life, I bought food items from a TCB truck out of desperation. We're victims of the situation," said Didar, after buying dates, chickpeas, sugar, lentils, and oil, from the state-run TCB's open market sales, meant for the poor and marginalised.
He, however, could not get subsidised rice as earlier in April, the food ministry suspended selling rice at Tk 10 per kilogramme through its dealers amid allegations of misappropriation by many dealers.
"If the situation rolls on for too long, we will have nowhere to live," said the trader, whose monthly income is at least Tk 30,000.
Like Didar, many belonging to the vulnerable non-poor and middle-class brackets have seen their incomes fall significantly or dry up altogether, as a result of the outbreak and the shutdown. What worries them is the dwindling cash they have saved from their modest incomes.
While the need for a shutdown amidst the Covid-19 outbreak might have been inevitable, its impact has already left these brackets of society vulnerable -- unleashing a new and potentially direr financial threat than they have faced before.
As the days went by, more and more people who fall in these groups are coming to collect food items from TCB trucks at its subsidised prices. Stock was flying off the shelves of the trucks, with the start of Ramadan also pushing up the number of customers at each sale point.
"The coronavirus is taking a heavy toll on us. Neither can we go out on the road seeking assistance from others, nor is there any support programme for us from the government," said Didar.
NOT POOR, BUT STILL VULNERABLE
According to economists, a person belongs to the middle-class category when his/her income ranges between $2 and $3 per day, adjusted to purchasing power parity.
A person earning between $1 and $2 per day is classified as the vulnerable non-poor and someone whose income is below $1 per day is regarded as living below the poverty line.
Roughly, a person with a four-member family who earns in the range of Tk 30,000 and Tk 60,000 per month is regarded as part of the vulnerable non-poor, said Binayak Sen, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
A person with the same number of family members earning between Tk 60,000 and Tk 1 lakh per month belongs to the middle-class category, he said.
"The vulnerable non-poor group is the worst hit of the situation and faces many problems, because they are not covered by most social safety net programmes."
Since social safety net programmes cover only people living below the poverty line, the government should immediately do something for this vulnerable non-poor group, said the economist.
"But only social safety net programmes will not be enough for them. The government also has to work on ensuring health and safety," he added.
According to Sen's research, published in November 2015, around 20 percent of the population belonged to the middle-income category in Bangladesh that year.
It drew a rising trend in that category -- in 1992, only nine percent of the population belonged to the middle class.
The research predicted that one-fourth, or 25 percent, of the country's population will belong to the middle-class income category by 2025 -- thanks to greater access to education, finance and IT services, and private sector employment.
Many of the middle class rely on income from savings, said the economist.
So, the government should suspend collecting tax at source on all interest income from saving certificates, fixed deposit receipts (FDR), and other saving schemes to give the middle class some comfort in this crisis period, he added.
NOT JUST THE POOR LINING UP
Those working at private organisations also face the uncertainty of being paid in full, as most offices remain closed since March 26.
"In my two years of working, I had never thought I would face such a harsh reality as I am facing now," said Saiful Islam, a private service holder.
In the month of Ramadan, usually a time when extra money is needed for spending, his office slashed salaries by half, citing the economic downturn. So, Saiful came to buy essentials from the TCB truck's sale point in Jigatola to save some money.
"With the little money left for the rest of the month, I had no choice but to come here. I need to bear additional expenses for Ramadan."
Aminul Islam, an employee of a private company, said those like him with a modest salary can barely save money for a time of crisis like this.
"I stood in the queue [before the TCB's truck] with uneasiness. But now, I am seeing people like myself standing in line to get commodities here," he said.
Demands for TCB's food items like sugar, chickpeas, lentils, dates, soybean oil, and onions, are increasing, and so is TCB's supply.
TCB spokesperson Humayun Kabir said in the beginning of April, TCB's food items were sold from 250 trucks across the country, including 50 in Dhaka city.
On April 25, they were selling from 460 trucks countrywide, with 111 in Dhaka alone.
Each of the trucks, with some occasional changes, contain 1,500 litres of oil, 1,000 kilogrammes of sugar, 500 kilogrammes of chickpeas, 200 kilogrammes of lentils, 100 kilogrammes of dates, and 300 kilogrammes of onions, he said.
"We have reached optimum level in Dhaka but we are increasing supply outside the capital," said Humayun.
He said all classes of people are now buying food items from TCB's trucks.
Most of the customers showing up now are not the poor to whom they are typically used to selling, as many poor people cannot afford to buy these commodities now, said Shamsul Haque, owner of Rasel Store, one of TCB's dealers in Dhaka.
"Those in a relatively better status than the poor are now our customers and the number of customers is on the rise."
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