Babul Madbar, a fruit seller in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan area, has a family of four. He suffers from kidney disease, while his wife has cancer.
Babul, on Thursday, told Dhaka Tribune that most of his income goes into his wife’s treatment and chemotherapy. Apart from that, he has to spend a lot of money on his dialysis as well.
He said he had spent about Tk12 lakh for his wife's treatment so far.
Babul also told this correspondent that he bears all the expenses required by his family, including the educational costs for one of his sons who studies in a madrasa. His other son is employed as a trainee at a private company.
With all these expenses piling up, Babul could not even sell Tk3,000 worth of fruits, whereas he earns Tk2,000-4,000 on average daily. He also said he had to sell the fruits at a lower price, as these are perishable goods. “I never faced such a financial crisis.”
With so many expenIn the last two days, Babul did not see much income, due to the three-day blockade called by BNP-Jamaat.
With tears in his eyes, he said: “Even at this age, I have to sell fruits on the street to support the family. We still have to struggle to live in current market conditions. I don't like to talk about the problems that have arisen between the political parties. We can’t save our lives here, while political leaders are imposing strikes and blockades one after another."
He requested the political parties to refrain from announcing programs like hartal and blockade and think about the common people. He urged them to talk and resolve their problems.
Just like Babul, there are thousands of common people who are struggling to cope with their expenses due to the political programs called by the opposition BNP.
