Daylong rain puts Dhaka’s low-income people in trouble

Nepal Chandra, a cobbler who runs his business in a shack in the capital's Moghbazar intersection, earns Tk600-800 on a normal working day but he spent Monday sitting idle eagerly looking for customers.

He had to cover up his minuscule shop with polythene amid heavy downpours occurring incessantly under the influence of cyclonic storm "Sitrang". In the evening, he managed to earn only Tk10 by fixing a sandal.

Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

Nepal told The Business Standard (TBS), "Rainy days are the worst. There is no customer. At the end of the day, if I cannot go home with some money in my pocket, then my family have to stay half-starved the next day."

"With the little income of a cobbler, one has to struggle to meet the house rent, children's education expenses, and food expenses. The day-to-day struggle becomes much harder when a day goes by without any income," he added.

But Nepal Chandra is not the only one who had bad luck on Monday. Rainy days are undesirable to people who make a living on a daily basis. Many street shops and businesses also remain closed.

Md Bashir, a hawker who sells betel leaves and cigarettes on streets in a handcart, told TBS, "I went out today amid rain, but could not even make a sale of Tk1,000 throughout the day. Normally, I sell products worth Tk2,500-3,000."

Visiting several areas of the capital including Banglamotor, Moghbazar, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, and Agargaon, low-income earners were seen to be most affected by the rain. 

Jasim Uddin, a roadside snack (shingara and puri) vendor in the Eskaton area, told TBS that he sells snacks worth Tk3,000-4,000 in the afternoon every day but he made Tk1,500 today. 

Photo: Mumit M/TBS

"I could not even sell half of the food that I had made today. If more items are not sold, it will be difficult to make up the cost, not to mention a profit," he said, adding that it was a mistake to open the shop today. 

"I have a monthly family expense of Tk20,000. If even a day is ruined due to rain, it will affect the expenses at the end of the month," Jasim Uddin added.

Masum, a fruit vendor in Moghbazar, told TBS, "I could not even make sales of Tk200 since morning while my daily sale hovers around Tk1500. The number of customers on the street today was very low."

Nayan, who sells chips, water and popcorn on the buses, told TBS that he managed to sell products worthTk300 throughout the day as there were fewer buses on the roads today and most of them had their doors shut due to rain.

Kalam Hussain, a vegetable seller in Agargaon, told TBS, "I could not even draw out the money with which I bought vegetables in the morning. Half of the vegetables remain unsold as there are no buyers. Now I have to sell these at lower prices than the purchase prices."

Rickshaw driver Faruk told TBS that there are fewer rickshaws, as well as fewer people on the city streets today. "I pulled my rickshaw for 4-5 hours in rain and earned about Tk400. The income would have been better if I could stay on the road for a little longer. But I cannot drench in the drizzle for long, so I had to go home early. On a normal day, I make Tk1,000 easy."

Mukul Sheikh, a tea stall owner in Karwanbazar, told TBS that he could not sell even half of what he sells on other days. "The bread and cakes that I kept at the bakery in the morning are about to go bad. I thought the sale would be good because the tea stall next to me was closed but no luck. Now I think it would have been better to keep the shop closed for today."

Apart from the street vendors, hotels and restaurants along with other shops in the capital also encountered fewer customers than usual. Many opened shops and spent the whole day sitting idle in the shop without any sales.

Shahriar Hossain, a hotel manager in the Farmgate area, told TBS, "On a normal evening, it becomes difficult to accommodate people in the hotel, but there are no people today. I am just hoping to somehow obtain today's operational costs."

Samiul, a grocer in Moghbazar, told TBS that sales have dropped by a third compared to other days. "No one came to the store except for those with urgent needs. Meanwhile, some products of my shop have been damaged by the rain."

Ride-sharing motorcyclists suffered the most from the all-day rain. Many of them did not go out because of the rain and those who went out had very little income.

A ride-sharing person named Rajib Hossain said, " On any other day, after finishing office at 3 pm, I make Tk400-500 till evening, but today I did not get any ride till 8 pm. I may have to return empty-handed today."