Compensation for Basila Boatmen
PM's promise yet to be kept
Boatmen from Basila-Waspur Ghat held a rally in the Buriganga River near the newly constructed Shaheed Buddhijibi Bridge on December 29 last year, inaugural day of the bridge, demanding compensation. File Photo
In the afternoon of December 29 last year, about 150 traditional boatmen from the Basila-Waspur Ghat formed a spectacular column with their boats in the river Buriganga and waited under the just completed Shaheed Buddhijibi Bridge there. Amid tight security, several hundred people gathered under a well-decorated marquee on the eastern side of the third Buriganga bridge. They came there to listen to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurating the bridge over the river. The opening of the bridge brought joy for land owners, commuters and unfolded new horizons for millions in Keraniganj area. But for 186 boatmen of the ghat, the bridge has instantly stripped them of their lifelong livelihood -- ferrying people and goods across the river. A livelihood that this impoverished community, living along the river, has clung to for generations. On the day, the boatmen waited in their boats to hear from the prime minister about their fate. Local MP Quamrul Islam, also the state minister for law, has pledged to help the community too. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her speech mentioned the plight of the boatmen caused by the construction of the bridge and promised to compensate them. As soon as Sheikh Hasina announced her intent, the boatmen in the river greeted it with bursts of applause and slogans. Ten months later, 186 boatmen and their families wait in misery for fulfillment of the pledge coming from the prime minister. “We have not forgotten the day we rejoiced with our families hearing our prime minister's promise for the compensation,” said Kazim Ali, 65, a boatman at the ghat for over 40 years. “For over 100 years we have done the job of a bridge by ferrying people but suddenly [this newly constructed] bridge renders us jobless and starving with our families. Is there no thank you?” Kazim said. Like Kazim, many of these boatmen are old and the only earning hands of their families. Most have not learnt any skills other than rowing boats since for generations they found the Basila-Waspur Ghat a ready job opportunity at their doorstep. Following the inaugural speech, Quamrul Islam told The Daily Star that as soon as he received the list of the boatmen, he would organise the rehabilitation procedure. But the boatmen said nothing happened ever since. “When we went to give our list to Quamrul Islam at his official residence in Mintoo Road [in the city], he suddenly asked us if we would be interested in a bank loan,” said Kalachan, 70, and a boatman since 1965. “We were very scared of further financial burden on our families and declined the offer,” he said. “Next time when we went to see him he said he could not do anything for us because we declined his offer of bank loan,” said Kalachan. Quamrul Islam told The Daily Star recently that the boatmen declined his offer of help. “I told the boatmen that I would officially stand guarantor for a bank loan, but they declined. But still if there is a scope in the area I shall be able to help recruit some of these boatmen,” he added without elaborating. For the last ten months, many of these boatmen and their families are living in extreme hardship. “Some young boatmen are now selling labour in the brick kilns but we the elderly and sick are just miserable with our families since the bridge took away our livelihoods,” said Shona Mia, 60, a boatman of the ghat since 1968. Hardship for one of the boatmen is worse than others. Having lost his job Abdul Baten, the leader of the boatmen, found it too hard to sustain with his seven children. Within three months after he became jobless, he fell mentally ill. His family and friends admitted him to the National Institute of Mental Health in Agargaon but could not afford the costs. Baten was soon discharged from the hospital. Now, he wanders the streets and mumbles to himself.
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