Bad situation gets worse for the poor

Babul Matbar managed to sell only half a kilogramme of apples during the hartal enforced by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami on Sunday -- a significant drop from his usual daily sales of 15 to 25 kg.

Despite this setback, he arrived at the Gabtoli Terminal this morning, the first day of the three-day countrywide blockade, hoping that he would sell some apples and send money to his family in Madaripur.

But from 7:00am to 10:00am, he could not sell a single apple because very few passengers showed up to take a long-distance bus.

"I am worried about the sales. I do not know how I will manage my family expenses in days ahead as political unrest may continue," the 55-year-old lone breadwinner of his family told The Daily Star.

Like Babul, low-income people including street vendors in the city are bearing the brunt of political uncertainty as their daily sales or income have dropped sharply.

They said people already limited buying products like fruits, garments and toys due to the price hike of daily essentials.

The ongoing blockade and hartals enforced by BNP and Jamaat will make their lives worse.

"The political parties are fighting for power and we are paying the price. They do not think of the common people. We are already in deep trouble due to the price hike of daily essentials," said a street vendor at the gate of Baitul Mukarram.

He did not want to be named as he feared reprisal by party activists for his comments.

"We are in a state of panic after violence erupted during rallies on Saturday. I could not make any sales during hartal [on Sunday] too," he said.

"I did not want to open the shop as merely running my shop entails expenses of around Tk 500 per day. Still, I came to my shop so that no one damages or torches it," the 65-year-old man said.

This correspondent visited different city points including Paltan, Farmgate, Dainik Bangla, Shahbagh, Darussalam and Tejgaon and heard many street vendors similarly lamenting poor sales and fearing financial ruin. In many places, the vendors did not open their shops.

"We do not want politics of violence. We want a normal situation to make a living and save our families," said Bakul, a vendor in Dainik Bangla area.

Yousuf Ali, a street fruit juice vendor, borrowed Tk 70,000 from his relatives to buy his van after city corporation officials dismantled his previous one just before Eid-ul-Azha in Bijoynagar area.

"I could not repay the loans yet. I do not know what will happen if the van is torched during hartal or blockade … I know I may be killed during violence. But I have no other option but to be on the streets with my cart to maintain my family," he said.

Despite risking his safety, Yousuf's rewards till 11:00am were poor -- he could make only Tk 60 in sales. During Sunday's hartal, his sales through the entire day amounted to just Tk 200.

Yousuf said his mother has been ill at his ancestral home in Lakshmipur's Ramganj upazila and doctors told them to feed her pomegranate daily.

"I do not know how I would manage money for her medicine and fruits," he told The Daily Star this morning.

"If programmes like hartal or blockade continue in the days ahead, it will only heap more and more misery on us," Younus, who sells old clothes and bags in Gulistan, said.