Kabir, 17, has been selling cannabis and phensidyl at the Suhrawardy Uddyan and Bangabazar areas in the capital since he was 11. He now employs five other boys in their late teens who help run his business.
Nayan, another teenager, used to work at a tea stall near Curzon Hall of Dhaka University few years ago. Now he has his own tea stall at the Suhrawardy Uddyan. Apart from selling tea, Nayan lends his stall to the “big brothers” of the Dhaka University area for hiding arms.
These so called big brothers are generally the armed criminals affiliated with the student fronts of the two major political parties. Whenever one party is in power, the criminals and the top leaders of its student front become the big brothers of the entire campus area, including the Suhrawardy Uddyan.
The Uddyan has in recent years become a nuclear township for many such teenagers. Not only are their livelihoods based at the Uddyan, it also serves as their dwelling.
But nothing comes for free for these “floating” kids. Many said they did not like what they were doing, but could not help. “We are bound to follow what they [big brothers] tell us. If we obey them, life becomes easier and we can live safely,” said Nayan.
Wahida Banu, executive director of Oporajeyo Bangladesh, said: “Almost every major urban centre in Bangladesh houses thousands of people, who live in these public spaces without any basic facility. Moreover, they get involved in different kinds of criminal activities because the state does not care about them.”
According to an estimate of the Marie Stopes Clinic Society (MSCS), 1,000-4,000 homeless people live places like Suhrawardy Uddyan. The society had identified six other similar locations in the capital.
An MSCS survey found out that many homeless people live and make a living at the urban centres. Of them, 26% are unmarried women and 15% unmarried men. Some 36% live as married couples with a 3.6 average family size.
At least a hundred such families live in the Suhrawardy Uddyan alone. Most of them either beg or ferry small stuffs or peddle drugs for a living.
Some are only allowed to live in the park for free because they let the big brothers use their tea stalls as arms stashes.
Ratan, a drug peddler, told this correspondent that he had been living in the Uddyan because living in a slum in the city would cost him at least Tk3,000 per month.
“As we [he and his family] stay here, all the members of my family get to do something or the other for a living. So, staying in the park with family is easier than staying in a slum,” Ratan said.
He also said he earned Tk3,500 per month on an average by selling drugs. His 10-year-old son works as a peddler for him.
Official data shows that the government has rehabilitated some 14,000 homeless people through its Ashrayan project until 2014. There are plans to rehabilitate 36,000 more by 2017.
The homeless people, who live in the roadsides and parks, comprise only a minor chunk of the rehabilitation because mostly those living in slums have been selected.
Rights activist Sahina Akhtar told the Dhaka Tribune that: “Living in the parks makes sure that they can carry their business at the parks without any hassle. They only have to manage police and local political leaders by bribing them with a part of their incomes.”
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said: “Police is a big organisation that also conducts many social program. If someone brings any specific allegation against any of our members, we will definitely take necessary actions.”
About arms stashing in the tea stalls in the parks, he said: “We continuously conduct drives [to unearth arms stashes]. A special team of police in plainclothes is currently taking necessary actions in this regard.”
