Tensions are running high in the city as the opposition gears up to hold a pre-scheduled rally on Friday,despite a strongly-worded caution from the home ministry against “subversive” activities.
Citizens have expressed their concerns over the continuation of the bellicose rhetoric being thrown around by the opposing political blocs and tensions in public life. These most apprehension is being felt amongst those on low incomes over fears that the situation will affect their livelihoods.
Sumon Hossain, a Shikar Paribahan bus-conductor, looked anxious and was glancing sideways, looking for possible signs of danger, when his bus heading to Jatrabari from Pallabi.
Sumon said: “The last couple of days have been very taxing. There is no saying when an agitator or someone will come about and set the bus on fire, or throw petrol bombs from a distance.
“We remain extra cautious these days. Only two days ago, one of our buses was torched in Mirpur. But staying back home is not an option either, as it would mean starving.”
The Dhaka Tribune interviewed a number of rickshaw-pullers, hawkers, bus drivers and street vendors who invariably expressed discontent with the way things have panned out in the country’s political scene.
The workers said they were worried about the possibility of a deteriorating law and order situation in the event thatthe political parties fail to reach a consensus on the polls-time interim government.
They said they were already experiencing fewer customers and commuters than usual and a consequent dip in daily earnings.
“We are the first and worst victims of any kind of street violence,” said Shahin Molla, a 35-year-old hawker who sells second-hand shoes on the streets in Farmgate.
“There are fewer people on the streets than most days. This means I have fewer customers now. The last few days have been terrible for business. I don’t know when the situation is going to get back to normal,” he said.
He added that if the tension continues for another week or two, or violence breaks out in the interim, it would mean a substantial loss in hawkers’ incomes, a lossthat may take months to make up for.
Jahangir Hossain,a rickshaw-puller at Karwan Bazar, said he had not been getting the expected number of passengers in the last few days and is struggling to make a decent income.