& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Dreadful days ahead?

Opposition's call for 3-day hartal worries commoners

M Rahman and Helemul Alam
Having no alternative means of livelihood, bus driver Amin Sheikh fears of dreadful days ahead, as the opposition leader yesterday called a 60-hour nationwide hartal from Sunday morning.
He already suffered from passenger scarcity yesterday as the city dwellers had hardly stepped out of their homes fearing political violence centring opposition's rally at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital.
"I get to drive the bus on alternate days which fetch me something between Tk 800 and Tk 1,000. With this income, I have to support my
family of four living at Lalkuthi area in Darussalam," said Amin, adding that he would have to ask local shopkeepers to sell him essentials on credit.
With a capital of Tk 4,000 at hand, vegetable vendor of Karwan Bazar Mohammad Bashar expressed similar apprehension, as he too lives on daily income.
He feels the three-day shutdown will be of the fiercest of its kind and there would be no scope for trucks to bring in vegetables to the capital.
"I maintain a three-member family with my daily income of Tk 400 to Tk 500. If 1 have to live on my capital for the next three days, I will not be able to continue my business on the foot-
path, " said Bashar.
Vendor Karim, who sells shoes on a pavement in Farmgate, also sees hard times ahead. He is at a loss regarding how to feed his family of four living in the city's Kathalbagan area.
Yesterday, he saw many possible customers instead of taking a pause at his makeshift shop rushing home.
"I could not sell a single pair of shoes from 3:30pm until 6:00pm, whereas on regular days, I sell several pairs by this time," hesaid.
Thousands, who live hand to mouth, bear most of the burnt on hartal days.
Since this January until last month, the opposition slapped 39 days of shutdown over several issues. With the upcoming three days the number will climb to 42.
Since yesterday morning, vehicular movement on city streets was very thin. The footpaths too were free of regular hustle and bustle of pedestrians. This greatly hampered the earnings of the transport workers, vendors and others who live on their daily income.
The industries too will have to suffer a double blow during the shutdown, as apart from disruption in production they often face vandalism.
"On hartal days, most factories remain closed. This is a certain loss for us, but it feels like a double blow when pickets resort to vandalising factories," said Kazi Akram
Uddin Ahmed, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chamber and Commerce.
However, the horrid reality was revealed in the statement of Osamn Ali, general secretary of Sarak Paribahan Sramik Federation.
Around 4,700 vehicles had been damaged while 100 more burnt by hartal pickets in the last five years, he said, adding that on a hartal day, transport workers receive only Tk 100 each as food allowance, but no wage. With this money they have to maintain their families.
The opposition from its Suhrawardy Udyan rally yesterday called hartal from 6:00am Sunday until 6:00pm Tuesday, giving the government a two-day ultimatum to initiate a dialogue on a neutral polls-time government.