‘No trading, what’ll we eat?’: small businesses are hit hardest by political instability

Small traders, especially those who depend on daily sales to buy food for their families, struggle to cope up with continuous disruptions

Tarek Mahmud sells socks and undershirts for children on the footpath of Gulistan in Dhaka. He needs to shout throughout the day to attract customers.

“Now there’s no customer. What shall I sell?” said a frustrated Tarek, as his sales have fallen by 90 percent because of the BNP’s antigovernment blockade before the general elections.

On a usual Sunday, the street shops of Gulistan and Motijheel bustle with customers from around Dhaka and beyond. The hawkers remain busy throughout the day.

But this Sunday, the first day of the BNP’s second round of blockade, the areas were almost deserted, with many people hunkering down at home amid fears of deadly arson attacks on public transports.

Small businesses, especially those who depend on daily sales to buy food for their families, may carry on wayward for two to three days by using their savings in such a situation, but it is difficult to cope up with continuous disruptions.

Many of these businesses start selling warm clothes ahead of winter, but the ongoing blockade has brought back memories of a similar monthslong programme that almost crippled the economy in 2015 after the 10th parliamentary polls.

Now the main political camps of the country are showing no intention to make a compromise. The Awami League says it will not resign before the next election scheduled to be held within the next two months, and the BNP says it will not participate in elections under the Awami League.

As uncertainty continues, owners of small businesses fret over paying bills, dues and employees’ salaries. Many of those who have bought seasonal products are worried if they can achieve the expected sales.

Shafiqul Islam, the owner of clothing store Siam Bastra Bitan, said sales have fallen sharply after the BNP’s Oct 28 rally when deadly violence started.

“I won’t be able to pay my employees this month if the situation persists. Don’t the politicians understand that general strikes and blockades bring suffering to the poor?”

Abu Taher, a seller of bed sheets on the footpath of the area, said he usually sells products worth Tk 5,000-6,000 a day, but sold only Tk 500 of products until the afternoon on Sunday.

“I run my family with the earnings from this shop. If trading stops, we’ll die starving. The shop will close if the situation continues,” bag seller Manik Mia said.

“What will we eat if the situation persists?” wondered Shahriar Hossain, who has been selling clothes on the footpath of Bangabandhu Avenue for two decades.

Md Shahjalal, a fruit seller on Elephant Road, said: “Sales are falling gradually. There’re no customers on the streets. Fruits are perishable. They will rot if I can’t sell them. How long will we have to endure the brunt of the blockade?

"Don’t we have the right to live?” he asked, fuming in frustration.