The Life of Divers

Diver Khoji Samir has employed his innovative mind in building a cylinder mask to use in his novel profession of searching out lost items from two rivers around Dhaka. Khoji Samir, 58, and his disciple Yunus move around along the rivers Buriganga and Shitalakhya all day long to search out various items from the riverbed. Among the things they recover are iron, buckets, pipes and the like. The duo come forward with their boat in rescue operations when launches run aground.
The reputation  and tale of Samir --- the suffix “Khoji” (the searcher) added to his  name --- has spread far and wide, from Kamrangir Char in Dhaka to Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Chandpur and even as far as Barisal.
Samir and Yunus can stay under the water for 10 to 15 minutes in one dive.
They sell the recovered materials as scrap, share the money by half.  Samir earns Tk 1,000 to Tk 3,000 per day.
Samir, who lives with his wife, a son and a daughter at Kamrangir Char opposite Sadarghat, meets his family expenses through this risky profession.

Photo: Anisur Rahman