Standing on the footpath along Fakirapool Pani Tank Road, Mohammad Suman is waiting in search of work. Dressed in a black T-shirt over a lungi, with a towel draped over his left shoulder, he has not been put to work for the last three days.
He comes here from Keraniganj every morning at around 6.30. He waits till afternoon and then returns home. Very little work is available after noon. Disappointed he went back.
While talking to Suman yesterday at 9:00 am on Saturday, he said that life is very difficult. He has a family of five – his wife and three children. Monthly expenses range between Taka 16,000 to Taka 18,000. He works as a daily wage laborer and earns 800 taka per day. However, the later he gets to work – especially after 10:00 am – the lower his wages become.
Since independence this labor market has developed on the footpath next to the Fakirapool water tank. Now 300 to 400 people come here every day to sell their labour.
These include a variety of construction workers – carpenters, masons, cleaning workers, painters and their assistants – as well as general labourers, van drivers and people in many other professions.
Conversations with many of them revealed a decline in work for all. From skilled artisans to daily wage laborers, everyone is facing financial crisis. Most reported being unemployed three to four days a week; Some people remain without work for more than a week continuously.
Suman’s village home is in Ballygunge of Tongibari, Munshiganj. Although he has relatives there, he does not have his own home. He came to Keraniganj as a teenager and is now 45 years old. He has worked as a daily wage laborer all his life. At one point, he tried something different but ran into trouble.
With some savings and a loan of Taka 115,000 from a cooperative society, he bought a battery-powered auto-rickshaw in 2022. Unfortunately, the battery failed within a year. Various problems followed.
With no other option, he sold it for 70,000 taka and returned to daily labour. Using his wife’s savings and loans from relatives, he repaid the cooperative loan, although he still owed about Taka 40,000.
Suman said that her work has declined in the last two years. Now they get work only for a maximum of 15 days in a month and even then they do not always get full wages. As a result, their monthly income rarely exceeds Taka 10,000 to Taka 12,000. His wife works as a domestic maid in Keraniganj and earns around Taka 4,000 per month. Together they manage the household somehow.
Liton Miya of Jamalpur works as a tiles mason. He has been living in Fakirapool area of Dhaka for 17 years. Due to decline in work it has become difficult to support his family. Last year he was forced to send his wife and two children back to the village. Now he lives in shared trouble.
Depending on his work, he sends money to his wife through mobile banking weekly or every 10-12 days. Still this is not enough. Their monthly expenses in Dhaka range from Taka 8,000 to Taka 10,000. A single meal at roadside restaurants costs at least 100 taka; Even a simple meal of dal and vegetables costs around 70 taka.
Liton said his daily wage is Tk 1,200. However, construction work has slowed since the fall of the government. Contract work had almost stopped. The work of tile, paint and sanitary workers depends largely on contractors. He hopes that the situation will improve after the elections, but the contractual work has not resumed yet.
Expressing disappointment, Lytton said that the new government initially suffered a major setback due to the Iran war. The prices of goods are increasing every day, while their incomes are not increasing – rather, they are decreasing further. “How long can this go on?” he asked.
Same is the situation of carpenter Jasim Vishwas of Krishnakathi village of Bakerganj. He was sitting on a van on the footpath. Nearby were carpenter Mohammad Shah Alam, mason Abul Kalam of Cumilla and his assistant Ramzan Shaikh, among many others.
Jasim Biswas said that till yesterday, Saturday, he had earned only Tk 8,000 this month. There is hardly any work left for carpenters now. He lives in a shared mess in Shantinagar, while his wife and two children live in the village. There he has only one house and no farm. When asked how he was managing, he replied, “God is leading us.”
Rickshaw-van drivers are also facing slowdown in work. Ashraful, MD of Pirgacha, Rangpur, said they mostly transport goods to printing presses and wholesale markets in the Fakirapool area. Home relocation related work also takes place at the end and beginning of the month.
However, one reason for the recent decline in work is the increasing number of auto-rickshaw vans. Auto-van drivers have reduced the fare considerably. Trips which used to cost 500 taka earlier are now being done by auto-vans for 250-300 taka.
After spending more than an hour in the Fakirapool area in the morning, it was seen that more than a hundred people were waiting for work. This is their everyday reality. They arrive at dawn and wait in hope. Time passes – some get work, some return disappointed.