Some 1,200 farmhands, who came to Faridpur from several different northern districts in search of work, have become stranded owing to the ongoing nationwide lockdown.
Every monsoon season, they came to the “Jon Haat”, a marketplace where farm owners from surrounding areas came to hire farmworkers to harvest jute and other crops.
However, this year they have been passing workless days as farm owners couldn’t come to the haat because of the movement restrictions in place, which is also stopping them from going back home.
Meanwhile, because they can't afford to stay anywhere else, they've been sleeping outside stores, bus terminals, and school grounds near the Jon Haat, said several labourers.
During a recent visit to the marketplace, located just off the Dhaka-Barisal Highway in Goalchamat area beside the town water treatment plant, around one thousand workers were seen waiting to get hired.
While only a handful of them found work at nearby crop fields, the rest had to linger in the area with uncertainty.
Moslem Bepari, of Jhenaidah's Moheshpur upazila, said he came to Faridpur 10 days ago and he worked at a job for two days only.
"I came here as there's no work in our area during the rainy season. There's a lot of work in Faridpur region, but I can't get any of those jobs due to the lockdown now," he added.
Another of the workers, Ashraful of Lalmonirhat, said, "I've been coming to Faridpur during the jute harvesting season for 12 years now. I had gotten many jobs here before and made good money. But this year, my earnings have stopped due to the lockdown."
Now my wife is asking me to go back home, but I can't, as I don't have much money left."
Sattar Sardar, of Sirajganj’s Shahjadpur, said until farm owners stopped coming to Jon Haat for labourers due to the lockdown, the marketplace had been the only source of his livelihood for years, he also said.
Babu Sheikh, the organizer of Jon Haat, said farmhands from Rangpur, Naogaon, Lalmonirhat, Pabna, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah and Meherpur appeared at the marketplace every monsoon to get hired by farm owners from Faridpur, Shariatpur, Madaripur, Gopalganj and Barisal.
“This year, however, nearly 500-600 workers became stranded after the lockdown was enforced. During lockdown last year, the police as well as different voluntary organizations distributed food relief to workers stranded in Faridpur town. But no one came to help them out this time,” added Babu.
