Caption: photo 1, 2

With the drying up of river, everything is finished for us. We have come to Dhaka because family cannot be run in the village anymore. We don’t have to learn rickshaw pulling – we can get a rickshaw just going to a garage. For pulling a rickshaw, no cash money is required, no savings is required, we get immediate cash money if we work all day, and there is no late payment. I could not study because of lack of money. Then I came to Dhaka for repaying the debt. We have landed up with a huge loan for my father’s treatment. It’s my misfortune that I have to pull a rickshaw.

Caption: photo 3, 4

I live in Jhilpar, Dhaka with family. And pay the rent of taka 800 for a 5 by 6 house. I have two children, taka 20 is spent for each and taka 30 for a meager meal of lentil, rice and vegetable which we all eat. If they study, then taka 300 will be spent more. Then again, taka 100 has to be paid for Arabi, and we will have to buy books and copies too. I earn on a daily basis and eat with that. If I don’t pull rickshaw for one day, then the next day there is no food. The days when I buy fish, then it requires a minimum of Taka 70 – 80. So we do not get to eat them much. It’s been three months that we haven’t had meat, only during Qurbani could we have some, and that’s all. Wearing warm clothes during winter?! There’s only a single shirt. A pain in the heart develops from that. Yesterday I had pulled the vehicle during rain, and today the pain in the heart is intolerable. Even so I have been out for 3 hours otherwise there will be no rice for the empty stomach. Everyday, taka 30 is spent for buying food, have to think about rent, taka 20-30 goes for eating tit-bits outside, and there is a deposit of Taka 80 for taking rickshaw – all together I must earn Taka 230-240 everyday. I have to earn this amount even if I loose my life. I need to save money in case I fall sick, but I don’t see any chance of that ever happening. There are many rickshaw pullers who stay in Dhaka with their families. Again, there are some who live alone in the garage from where they borrow rickshaws. The atmosphere there is not good, but what to do? It would cost a lot of money to live in a separate place, so after coming back from work they retire in that place only. In winter we sleep here, in summer we sleep here, in rain we sleep nowhere but here.


Caption: photo 5 to 8

In the remote areas, there are only broken roads, maneuvering which the bones simply get crushed for both the passenger and myself. If the roads are improved, then it’s good for me, good for the passenger too. When we pull rickshaws there and the wheels get stuck then we put more pressure. There are many high speed-breakers, and the passengers do not even get down. All the energy of the body gets exhausted to cross the huge road-breakers in front Mirpur’s Boro Bagh and Zoo. The heart thumps badly, as if I have been running. The throat becomes thirsty and I feel like drinking water. When there is a teashop nearby I drink two glasses of water and feel relieved. In summer, when I get completely exhausted from pulling rickshaw I sometimes take rest under the shadow of a tree, and many times I also take a nap on the rickshaw. People say we take more money be it winter, summer or rain, but no one understands that when it rains they I sit under a hood, but what does the rickshaw puller has any hood? If he falls sick today, who will look after him? Who will run his family? Yesterday I pulled rickshaw in the rain, today I have fallen ill with pain in the heart. If I pull rickshaw one day, the next day I no more feel like it, it becomes painful. There are so many health and heart problems that crop up due to rickshaw pulling.

Caption: photo 9 to 13

The place where we rickshaw wallahs work to eat on a day to day basis, where one day of not pulling leaves us with empty stomach, there, in this city of Dhaka, the government is banning rickshaws from the main roads to beautify the city. Before, when the main roads were open we could take long distance passengers and earn a lot of money. I could educate my children also and the prices in the markets where also low. But now the prices are high, but how will be buy such high-priced things. The roads are no more open. Rickshaws banned from the main streets means lower income for the rickshaw wallahs. Earlier the rice that was Taka 10 per kg is now Taka 22 per kg. Earlier the route that earned us Taka 5, now gets us maximum Taka 6. A lot of harm has been done to us with the eviction of the rickshaws. We could easily go long distances on the smooth main roads and earn good money too. And now we have to take the broken side lanes, which are longer and ever increasing. If the main roads were open then it would have been lesser pain, and we could ply more. To go to New Market we have to take a longer route and do not get much fare too. For City Plate rickshaws they take a deposit of Taka 80 – 90. Since the banning of the rickshaws from the main road, it has become difficult to even earn that money. Nationalist Insur Ali, Shukkur Ali, Mahatab, Liberation War and Parliament – all these provide a license in return for Taka 300, so the police do not catch you. If the license for the rickshaw gets over, then it is thrown uselessly at Agargaon. When there are more rickshaws, the rickshaw puller is sent back to his village and at times the rickshaws are thrown into Buriganaga.


Caption: photo 14, 15

If the government bans rickshaw without arranging for any other kind of work for rickshaw pullers, then they will start stealing and the number of thieves in the city will increase. Moreover, we have been doing nothing else before, and do not know anything else besides pulling rickshaws. I don’t object to the government’s converting the roads into VIP. The government can make islands and 1 lane for the rickshaws beside the VIP streets, then the big vehicles can move on one side and we can ply from the other side. There could be gaps between where only the rickshaws can stand and ply, no big cars. One more request is to rehabilitate us, like the government rehabilitates others. If each rickshaw were given a number (license), It would be very good for us rickshaw pullers. It is good that the government is generating license. If the government were to issue license for all the rickshaws in Dhaka, then every month we would not have to pay fine to the mobile courts when we get caught. There are thousands upon thousands of rickshaws in the country, out of which only 86 thousands have license. If the government gives a garage and says we are giving you 50 licenses, you have to keep 50 rickshaws and you can keep 100 pullers, one for morning and one for evening. Then the number of rickshaws will decrease, number of rickshaw pullers and its use will increase. To collect the rickshaw driving-license form, we have to stand in line from 6 pm, the officer comes next day at 9.30 am and we pay Taka 5 to get the form. After taking the form, we have to fill it up and take photo. Again we have to come at 6 pm, and sleep while on queue the whole night. The sirs come at 9.30 am, take the form, then we have to come back after 10-12 days to collect the license. The three days that we come here there is neither any work nor the time to work. These three days we have to live on gratis. They give the license for three months – it would have been better for us if they were issued for 1 year.