Md Ripon, a 28-year-old farmer from Noakhali district, arrived in Dhaka at the start of Ramadan in search of a job to support his family after facing a loss in paddy cultivation.
With a view to earning extra income during the holy month, many people across the country like Ripon come to the city ahead of Eid-ul Fitr, the largest religous festival of Muslims.
These people mostly get work pulling rickshaws on the city streets only for Ramadan and are known as seasonal rickshaw pullers, as they go back to their previous profession after Eid.
“Facing a huge loss in paddy cultivation this time, I decided to pull a rickshaw for this month so that I can spend some extra money for my family on Eid,” Ripon told the Dhaka Tribune.
Ripon rented a rickshaw from a garage in Raja Bazar area for a daily rent of Tk120. He pulls the rickshaw everyday from morning till evening. He stays in a mess beside the garage and has to pay Tk120 per day for accommodation and food.
“This is the first time I am pulling a rickshaw. At first, I faced some difficulties in recognising city routes as well as deciding the fares and following traffic rules. But gradually I became accustomed to it and overcame the difficulties,” he said.
Middle-aged rickshaw puller Abdul Aziz came to Dhaka from Sylhet at the beginning of Ramadan. He said he had been pulling rickshaws in the city for the last three years and only for two months before two Eid festivals.
Aziz earns Tk700 to Tk800 a month and can save Tk450 to Tk500 after deducting all his costs.
He said: “Our income has dropped in comparison to what we earned in previous years due to traffic gridlock in most streets in Dhaka.”
Many people come to Dhaka to work as seasonal rickshaw pullers to earn extra money for their families on Eid. The file photo was taken on Road 1 in Dhanmondi on September 25, 2014
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/DHAKA TRIBUNELike Ripon and Aziz, thousands of these seasonal rickshaw pullers continue to pour into the city ahead of Eid. The number of rickshaws has increased on almost all of the important streets, including Motijheel, Kamalapur, Malibagh, Khilgaon, Sayedabad, Jatrabari, Shantinagar, Mouchak, Rampura, Badda, Gulshan, Mohakhali, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Zigatola, New Market, Nilkhet, Hatirpool, Dhaka University area, and Old Dhaka.
Abdul Majid, a garage manager in Korail, said: “We have launched many old rickshaws on the roads after repairing them because of the huge demand. Sometimes we have to rent a single rickshaw to two people in two shifts from morning till afternoon and afternoon till midnight.”
At times, the rickshaw rush is blamed for the gridlock on the roads as most seasonal rickshaw pullers are not properly aware of the city streets, lanes, traffic signals and rules.
Sergeant Latif at Panthapath signal told the Dhaka Tribune that traffic pressure had increased on the thoroughfares due to the rise of seasonal rickshaw pullers in the city.
Most of these rickshaws are illegal and add to the stress on the busy roads of Dhaka.
According to sources from Dhaka North and South City Corporations, the institutions had issued some 87,811 rickshaw licences till 1986.
Since then, the city corporations have stopped issuing new licences but everyday several hundred rickshaws are adding to the number of vehicles on the streets under different organisations backed by political persons, said the sources.
Mofiz Uddin Ahmed, joint commissioner (traffic-south) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I have taken initiatives to stop the access of illegal rickshaws into the city.
“Check posts have been set up as well at all connections and entrances of different district towns with Dhaka city,” he added.
