Anisul Islam Noor :
The hawkers and small traders suffer due to the blockade programme, as they cannot open their shops, fearing mishap, and, thus, cannot sell clothes and other items to the people of the middle-income (mostly office employees) and the lower income (day labourers and rickshaw pullers) groups, who are their main sources of revenues.
Thousands of hawkers open their shops generally in the morning everyday and close after dusk. On the day of shutdown and blockade, they cannot do it, Mohanagr Hawker Samity leaders on condition of anonymity said.
Hawker Ibrahim Munshi told The New Nation, “I do my business in front of the Notre Dame College and earn Tk 350 to 500 everyday to support my six-member family. If there is no income or little income, I will be in trouble.
Saber Hossain, who sells toys, caps and money bags in front of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, said, sales decline sharply by 70 percent during blockade, as happened in 2013 during the Hefazat Islam’s Dhaka Siege programme. Saber pointed out that many hawkers near the mosque paid heavily in May 2013. “We wait for every Friday, as devotees, who come to the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque for [Jumma] prayers, purchase a lot of things also” he said. Our sales fall on the day of hartal and siege. So the, hawkers and small traders in the area are not happy at political unrest. A non-stop strike affects us badly. If blockade continues, it will be difficult for me to realise my investments,” said Shafiqul Islam, small shop owner at Gulistan. An office employee said, though footpath is not for doing business, it relieves us from buying things at higher rate from shopping malls. On the blockade day, we neither come to office at comfort nor can purchase household necessaries and garments at cheap rate.
