Battered lives in Badda: Street vendors hit hard

Forty-four-year-old Altaf Ali came to Dhaka from Kishoreganj's Nikli when he was 29 in hopes of making a better life by pulling rickshaws. 

But a road accident broke his knee and ankle, forcing him to a different means of earning. 

Since 2011, Altaf had been selling betel leaf and cigarettes on the streets of Dhaka. Unable to walk long distances, his business was limited to around Merul Badda. 

After last Thursday, Altaf's small business hit a halt amid the shooting and chaos in Badda and surrounding areas. 

"I used to earn Tk400-500 per day selling betel leaf and cigarettes. I was able to provide for my family's meal and the school fees of one of my boys," Altaf told The Business Standard. 

"I am a person with disability. I can't run while there's a chase. I trimmed my business in half due to fear of my life," he said. 

Altaf lives in Merul Badda with his wife and two sons. The family of four needs to spend at least Tk300 daily on food alone. 

"I also have a loan that I took from a local NGO. I need to pay Tk1,500 per week as installment. With zero savings, I am forced to buy necessary supplies on credit from two shops in my area," he said. 

"Last Sunday, the shopkeepers said they can't continue giving me the supplies without payment anymore. I borrowed Tk600 from my brother-in-law and spent that money to get few supplies," Altaf added. 

Altaf's predicament is shared by many other vendors, who also survive on a daily income.

Omar Faruque, a small shoe vendor in Madhya Badda, is also having a hard time running his family. 

"I need to buy medicines for my mother, who is a heart patient. I'm not being able to buy milk for my nine-month-old son due to cash crunch," he said. 

Badda Hawkers' Samity, an organisation that consists of 340 small vendors like Altaf and Faruq, said they have a small savings scheme where each of the vendors pay Tk20 every day. 

The saved money is paid back once every two years with profit. 

"Since past one week, none of the members were able to make the daily payment," said Mizanur Rahman, general secretary of the Badda Hawkers' Samity. 

He also said there are at least 200 more small traders in the Badda area alone who isn't a part of the organisation. 

Since 17 July, clashes had taken place in most of Dhaka including Jatrabari, Shonir Akhra, Gulistan, Rampura, Badda, Pragati Sarani, Farmgate, Kuril, Uttara and Mohammadpur, significantly affecting businesses in these areas. 

Bilal Hossain, general secretary of Bangladesh Shop Owners' Association, said there are hundreds of thousands of small traders on the streets of Dhaka. 

"They sell clothes, sandals, shoes, toys, kitchen necessities, old books, fruits and other things," he said. 

Bilal said many of these traders' shops or stalls were burned during the ongoing clashes and many were injured. 

He even reported looting incidents in some of the stalls. 

"All of these small traders are currently in crisis. I hope the government will help these traders once the situation settles down," Bilal hoped.