As the sun rises over the horizon in the East, Dhaka wakes up not because of the opening of offices, schools or shopping malls but by the strides of the invisible workers.
A constant buzz lies in the heart of Dhaka that moves with the standstill traffic- the long sighs, footsteps and the unannounced effort of those who keep running the urban machine. Within the well-ordered city of Dhaka lies the workforce that remains unseen and unacknowledged.
They sweep the roads clean before the regular commuters of the metropolis turn up. The vegetables are piled up on rickety wooden carts prepared for the early consumers and the steaming tea at the roadside stalls that offer warmth to the bystanders and pedestrians.
Their presence is often overlooked by city dwellers, as they usually blend into the background and only come into notice when these services are disrupted.
The informal sector of Bangladesh is diversified, as it consists of rickshaw pullers, vegetable vendors, construction workers, trashmen, and countless others who rely on their daily earnings. Even though they form the backbone of urban survival, their contributions are not well discussed in any glossy annual reports or economic briefings.
Even without any means of a regular and steady source of income, rickshaw pullers continue to spend long hours navigating through the streets of Dhaka, fighting against the heat and rain. While we start panting after 5 minutes of exercise, these men continuously paddle their way through life to make ends meet.
The domestic helpers relentlessly dedicate themselves to taking care of households while carrying the responsibilities of their own families. Street vendors balancing on delicate stalls adapt themselves to the foot traffic and sell their goods.
Whereas the role of the waste collectors is perhaps most overlooked, as they move through the streets of Dhaka trying to sort the massive piles of trash that the urban dwellers produce daily.
Most of these people lack job security or benefits and are often subjected to financial risks as their means of income often tend to fluctuate. These fluctuations reflect their professional vulnerability, which is mostly disrupted by weather conditions, sudden changes in municipal regulations, economic shutdowns, or national crises.
One heavy downpour of rain is enough to wash away the sales of a day for vendors on the streets. Additionally, crackdown against illegal stalls by the municipal authorities can destroy the means of livelihood on which thousands of families depend to survive. Not at the very least, health concerns also add to the regular challenges as these silent warriors of the city are exposed to pollution, hazardous materials, and the physical strain on their bodies due to the long, extensive hours of work in harsh conditions.
Their hands often remain invisible in the process of policy making as the urban development projects tend to focus more on infrastructural developments and economic boosts, leaving little scope to address the basic needs of those working beyond the shadows.
In addition, the space that roadside stalls usually occupy is not often considered when the authorities plan to widen the roads for better and faster transportation. Waste management policies by the city corporations overlook the contributions made by the informal recyclers, which usually forces them to operate within the grey areas of the system- a place where they are tolerated but not acknowledged, essential yet excluded.
Not at the very least, most of these workers are forced to migrate from rural communities to escape the uncertainty of agricultural incomes or due to natural disasters, ranging from cyclones, floods, to river erosion. However, despite these hardships, the level of endurance that these people have is remarkable. They adapt themselves in the cities by trading one form of insecurity with another, desiring that the daily flow of cash income will be able to sustain them in the long run. In doing so, they get used to the shifting work locations, changing services and goods, and learning diverse skills, as survival for them does not depend upon stability but flexibility.
However, even in adapting to these dire conditions, they can never escape the constant economic pressure. When a member gets ill, the entire family is thrust into debt.
The education of the children competes with and is often defeated by the need for extra income, because of which the cyclical nature of poverty can never be put to an end. Poverty continues to exist through generations as the children are also made to follow the footsteps of their parents.
The invisibility of their work is not just about physical presence but also about social recognition. They are rarely given any credit for the urban growth in the mainstream narratives. When city campaigns often revolve around technological advancements, new infrastructural inaugurations, or foreign investments, the silent workers who sweep the roads or pick up trash are often left to be forgotten. The lack of their recognition reflects an unspoken bias where only a particular form of labour is deemed worthy, whereas the rest is disposable.
Recognizing their role is not simply a matter of fairness; it is essential to building an inclusive and sustainable urban future. Otherwise, progress that is built on economic and technological foundations will prove to be too fragile to last.