Bangladesh News

Over an estimated 20 lakh people in Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) area are left out of the government’s safety net programmes like open market sale (OMS) and fair price shops because they live under union parishads.

Officials of Directorate of Food say the programmes are meant only for the residents of municipalities and upazilas. The government has yet to introduce similar measures for those living in unions.

Visiting 17 unions for the past few days, The Daily Star correspondents found that rickshaw pullers, day labourers, factory workers and small traders constitute the majority of the populace there.

The unions–Sultanganj, Harirampur, Uttar Khan, Dakshin Khan, Satarkul, Demra, Sharulia, Matuail, Shyampur, Nasirabad, Dakshin Gaon, Barayit and Bhatara–are within the confines of 11 police stations of DMP.

People living there are no less affected by price spiral of essentials, and absence of safety net programmes for them has only compounded their problem.

Chairmen of the unions said about 80 percent of the people there are poor. Though many of them work in Dhaka City Corporation area, they have opted to stay on in the unions to escape the high cost of living in the city proper.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Kamal Uddin told The Daily Star that according to the census about 11 lakh people lived under these 17 unions in 1991.

Though no census was carried out in the recent times, he said, the population is believed to have reached the 20 lakh mark in the past one and a half decades.

Some other sources however put the number at 30 lakh.

About 1.40 lakh people buy rice every day three days a week from 687 OMS dealers across DCC areas. Under the programme, each dealer sells 5 kg of the staple to 204 people a day.

From today, 2.06 lakh people will be able to reap the benefit. Each dealer will sell rice to 300 people a day three days a week, said Pias Costa, director general of the food directorate.

Also from today, about 18 lakh people across the country will be able to buy rice from 6,800 OMS dealers.

Besides, 60 truckloads of rice are sold to 36,000 city dwellers every day four days a week under the direct sale programme of the food directorate.

Meanwhile, about 1.30 lakh people in the DCC areas are getting the benefit of buying rice from 75 BDR outlets each day six days a week.

Of the 17 unions, over 6 lakh people mostly from low income brackets live in Sultanganj union that includes Kamrangirchar, the most-densely populated DMP area.

Residents of Kamrangirchar said most of them are helpless in the wake of skyrocketing prices of food items. They have no alternative to trekking to the fair price outlets in the city corporation areas. Particularly the women have to spend a major part of their time queuing up for rice at BDR and OMS outlets or direct sale points.

Shahinoor Begum of Rasulbagh in Kamrangirchar said she goes to Azimpur staff quarters playground to buy rice twice a week since there is no BDR outlet in her area.

“I start for the BDR outlet at Azimpur at the crack of dawn and return home in the evening. I have to leave my three minor kids to a neighbour. I could have spent the time earning some money if the facilities were here in Kamrangirchar,” she said.

Wahid Hossain, a former OMS dealer of Kamrangirchar, told The Daily Star, “I was an OMS dealer each time the governments in the last 10 years undertook the programme for Kamrangirchar area. But this year they did not give me any dealership.”

The officials concerned told him that they would not appoint any dealer for Kamrangirchar since the area is not under city corporation or upazila.

Monir Hossain, chairman of Sultanganj union parishad, told The Daily Star that Kamrangirchar, a five-square mile area flanked by Buriganga, is one of the poorest areas under DMP.

“Programmes like BDR fair price outlets or OMS is essential for those living here since most of them are needy and cannot afford to live in the DCC areas,” he said.

Hamid Ali, who came to Azampur from Dakshin Khan to buy rice from the direct sale outlet, said, “I have to spend almost the entire day for buying rice as there is no outlet in our area.”

He said, “As buying rice occupies most of my time I cannot do other tasks. Many are forced to buy rice at a much higher price from the local shops.”

Shahidul Islam, chairman of Sarulia union under Demra Police Station said, “Over 2 lakh people live in my village and most of them are from low income group. It should not matter if they are under union parishad or municipality as they are the ones deserving the benefits most.”

The director general of the food directorate said currently two truckloads of rice are sold each day four days a week at Lalbagh and Mohammadpur embankment area near Kamrangirchar.

He said they will soon increase the number of trucks to sell rice in areas adjacent to the unions so that people from there could get the benefits.

Besides, he said, lately they have increased the number of rice trucks at Uttar Azampur bearing in mind the convenience of residents of Uttar Khan and Dakshin Khan, he said.

Contacted, DCC Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka told The Daily Star that there are many problems including demarcation cases centring the unions and that is why they are yet to be brought under the city corporation.

“We are trying to bring those unions under DCC so that those people too can have the benefits on offer for city dwellers,” he said.