When visiting the spot on Thursday morning (4 June), it was just a little before 7am. Several men were already lined up along the footpath. Among them was Md Sultan, over 70 years old. His shirt was dusty and worn, with several buttons missing. He wore a lungi and had a gamcha tied around his waist. In an old bag, he carried a few sets of clothes and a glasses case where he kept his national identity card.
Sultan has worked as a construction helper for nearly 30 years. Before that, he used to drive an autorickshaw. A native of Shariatpur’s Naria, Sultan, despite his age and physical weakness, was forced back into hard labour because his only son refused to look after his elderly parents.
With his wife still in the village, Sultan sends money for her food and medicine whenever he finds work.
“Sometimes I send 200 taka, sometimes 300. I don’t have a mobile phone. I just give the money to the shopkeeper, and he sends it to her,” said Sultan.
Sultan has no place to stay in Dhaka. He told Prothom Alo that he spends his nights on the very streets or footpaths where he waits for work. When he finds a work, he can buy food; when he does not, he simply goes hungry.