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North workers find wages dwindling

PlNAKI Roy, Bogra
The wages of day-labourers have slumped in the monga-hit northern districts forcing the destitute people to migrate to other places including the capital for better wages.
In Bogra, where hundreds of people from Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari gathered to find a job, the employers pay a labourerTk 30 for eight hours' service.
"This is off-season for labourers.
It is difficult to find job these days," said Kamal Hossain working on a crop field in Sariakandi. "After one month the wage will rise to Tk 50 to Tk60."
The labourers and land-owners said the wage rate in Bogra did not increase in Sie last five years and it comes down to a half during the monga season.
"As poverty-striken people are streaming to the urban areas, the wage rate remains low. The supply of
labourers is higher than the demand," said Jamir Uddin, a well off farmer.
The labourers who came to Bogra despite the low wage said the situation in Kurigram and Gaibandha districts is so bad that they have no option but to beg.
"Many of us came to Sariakandi but only a few have got jobs. The others have become beggars," Kamal Hossain said. "This is the worst ever situation I have seen in last 20 years."
Bhulu Mia, a farm labourer, said his daily wage of Tk 30 is inadequate to run his five-member family. "I have to work from 8:00am to 4:00pm for this scanty amount"
Thousands of labourers like Bhulu Mia are struggling to survive the near-famine situation aggravated with the soaring prices of essentials.
"The government has issued some VGF cards but I did not get one. Price of everything has shot up," he said talking to this correspondent at Narsibazaar in Sariakandi.
The prices of essentials are lower at the village markets compared to those in Bogra and other big cities but still the poor do not have the capacity to buy even vegetables or a small fish.
At Narsi bazaar, price of coarse rice has came down to Tk 14 a kg fromTk 17-18 a couple of weeks ago. But vegetable prices are beyond the purchasing capacity of the poor.
Although Sariakandi is an agrarian region, potato is selling at local markets atTk 12 a kg, onion atTk28, aubergine at Tk 24, and green chilli atTk 45 a kg. Poor people at the Nasri bazaar were seen buying 1 kg or half a kg rice, potato or arum to feed their families as they cannot buy fish or vegetable^
Women labourers are more vulnerable than males to the extreme poverty as they do not find work in these hard days.
Hazera Begum of Dhunat upazila collects cow-dung and dry it out to sell to her neighbours atTk30 a bag. "It takes 15 days to fill up one big bag of dried cakes," she said.
"My son pulls rickshaw-van and earns hardly Tk 50 to 60 to feed our seven-member family. So I have to work hard for extra income," Hazera said.
Both Hazera Begum and Bhulu Mia said they did not know about the open market sale of rice that the government had started last month.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Sariakandi, Mohammed Akbar Hussain, however said the situation was better in Sariakandi than other upazilas.
"We will start the VGF programme from November 8," he said. "The situation here is not as bad as in other northern districts... At least some people have work here."