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Forget lunch Day

labourers skip meal to cope with hartal

Helemul Alam and Jamil Mahmud
Anik Sarkar, a day labourer from Keraniganj in his fifties, has had to skip lunch in the last three days due to the countrywide hartal called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
The 60-hour-long shutdown has dealt a heavy blow to his prospects of finding work.
"I started these mornings with a moderate meal and waited all day long here hoping to be hired, but no such luck. I closed the days with a simple supper at home," he said yesterday, at the capital's Roy Shaheb Bazar intersection.
"I borrowed Tk 500 from a neighbour three days ago and haven't dared to spend a penny on lunch since then."
During the hartal hours, many day-labourer masons, carpenters and painters were seen sitting idle at different points in Dhaka including Roy Shaheb Bazar, Moghbazar, Jurain, Jatrabari, Mirpur 11 and Savar.
To add to their sufferings, the alliance is now planning to enforce an indefinite blockade from the next week to cut off the capital from the rest of the country and force the government to meet its demand for a non-party electiontime administration.
"I don't know when this will be over. I will have no other option but to commit suicide if the situation continues," said Anik.
Around 200 workers wait in front of Buriganga Setu Market at Jurain on an average day. Yesterday the number was less than half of that, as labourers are aware that the chances of getting an employer during a hartal are slim.
Madhu Mia, a day labourer and a father of four, waits every day in front of Savar New Market to be hired. He said the hartal had brought further misery to his already struggling family because he had failed to find any work since Sunday.
"They [political leaders) areonly busy trying to achieve their own ends, no matter at what cost. They do not have the time to care about poor people like me," he added.
When Mohammad Mahbub, a 20-year-old mason, was asked why he had been waiting at Jurain despite knowing about the harsh reality, he replied, "Who knows, perhaps someone will come and hire me."
His face fell when these correspondents identified themselves.
"I thought you were looking for workers. No one has showed up and offered me a job since Sunday - not even for an hour," he sighed.
Day labourer Adorn Ali came to Dhaka from Satkhira three years ago for a better living. He said political events such as hartals and blockades are forcing him to rethink his profession.
"I am rather considering going back to my village, as it is really hard to earn money during hartals," he noted.
Both he and Mahbub are of the view that political programmes like hartals, whether they actually benefit the parties or not, play havoc with their daily lives.
Ansarul Islam, a mason who came from Rangpur, said it is urgent to send at least Tk 5,000 to help his family meet its daily needs and pay for the schooling of his three daughters.
"But I am helpless now. I don't know how many days it will take me to earn the money in a situation like this," he observed.
Abul Kalam, a painter who lives in Jurain, said if more shutdowns and blockades follow, then he and his four-member family would have to live on the streets.