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Day labourers hit badly by hartals in capital

HELEMUL Alam
Once he had an income, just enough to eke out a living with his five-member family.
But things have changed these days for Mohammad Shamim, 45, a mason by profession, as he was sitting idle in front of the Buriganga Setu Market at the capital's Jurain on Monday with no job, and no hope in sight.
It was around 12:00noon. But Shamim, who had been waiting there for a job with his instruments since early morning, was yet to get any offer.
Usually, the day labourers are on high demand in the city. But frequent hartals called by the opposition alliance have dashed their hopes for getting jobs, the only means of livelihood.
"I will wait until 2:00pm. If none hires me, I will go home," said Shamim, who had
been waiting there with hundreds of other fellow workers.
Joblessness has even forced the people in lower income bracket to curtail their food budget.
"I don't eat my lunch nowadays," Shamim told this correspondent, with a pale face. Like the hundred others, he does not know what will happen to them in future with the political crisis deepening.
The house owner had already asked him to pay the rent of October by November 20 or leave the home.
"I have been able to work just for a day since Eid-ul-Azha that forced me to borrow Tk3,000," said Shamim.
His wife, who used to work at a small factory of plastic items in Hazaribagh area, is also jobless, as the factory has been shut
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because of frequent hartals.
" It is really frustrating as I am losing my last hope for managing Tk 3,000 to repay the loan due to another spell of hartal," he said.
Shamim is one example of many others who are undergoing same financial crises due to frequent hartals.
The 18-party opposition had observed 120-hour hartal in two spells since October 28 to press home its demand for a non-partisan caretaker government. Another spell of 84-hour hartal ended Wednesday evening.
Abu Taher, another mason who had been pondering over selling his furniture and other valuables to pay the house rent, said: "I have borrowed Tk 15,000 in the last two months to maintain my seven-member family. Moreover, house rent ofTk 12,000, accumulated over four months, remains unpaid."
Mannan Bepary -- a hawker who lives in the capital's Tantibazar, and sells clothes on the streets -did not dare to come out of home during the previous hartals. But he had to come out on the day to sell clothes, as it was not possible for him to stay at home anymore.
"I have no alternative this time as I have already spent Tk 3,000 from my Tk 25,000 capital to bear the expenditure of my family," said Mannan, who hails from Bikram pur.
Truck driver Jahidul Islam said: "I usually earnTk 500 in a trip. Though I have no income during hartals, I have to spend money for meeting the expenses of my family. Moreover, I have to pay the money to my helper, no matter it is hartal day or not."
"Why should we bear the brunt of this nasty politics?" he questioned this correspondent.