The forgotten 186 of Buriganga

Nearly six years on, PM’s pledge remains unfulfilled

In the afternoon of December 29, 2009, about 150 traditional boatmen from the Basila-Washpur ghat formed a spectacular column with their boats in the river Buriganga and waited under the just completed Shaheed Budhijibi Bridge there.

A picture of the third Buriganga bridge taken from the middle of the river

On the eastern side of the bridge, amid tight security, several hundred people gathered under a well decorated marquee. They had come to listen to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurating the third bridge over the river Buriganga.
The opening of the third Buriganga bridge brought joy for land owners, commuters and unfolded new horizons for millions in the Keraniganj area. But for the 186 boatmen of the Basila-Washpur ghat (crossing), the bridge  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 onto for generations.
On the day, these lifelong boatmen waited anxiously in their boats to hear from the Prime Minister about their future. The local Member of Parliament, Qamrul Islam, had pledged to help the community earlier.
The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her speech mentioned the plight of the boatmen caused by the construction of the bridge and promised to rehabilitate them. As soon as Sheikh Hasina announced her intent, the boatmen in the river greeted it with bursts of applause and slogans.

A solitary boatman still plying the Buriganga on a traditional boat.

Today, nearly six years later, the community of these 186 traditional boatmen and their families wait in despair for the fulfillment of the promise coming from the Prime Minister. Many have died over the years, leaving behind their families in misery.
“We have not forgotten the day we rejoiced with our families hearing our Prime Minister promise compensation,” said Kazim Ali, 70, a boatman at the ghat for over 40 years. “For over 100 years we have done the job of the bridge by ferrying people, and suddenly the 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-Washpur ghat a ready job opportunity at their doorstep.
The boatmen went from door to door. The local Member of Parliament, Qamrul Islam, who was present at the meeting, simply declined to do anything to uphold the promise of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Boats of different shapes and sizes still ply the Buriganga, set in the backdrop are the new modes of making a living, the brick-kilns.

For the last six years many of these boatmen and their families are living in extreme hardship. “Some young boatmen are now selling labor in the brick kilns but we, the elderly and sick, are just so miserable with our families since the bridge took away our livelihoods,” said Shona Mia, 70, a boatman on the same ghat since 1968.
Hardship for one of the boatmen is far worse than others. Abdul Baten, the leader of the boatmen, found it too hard to bear with his seven school- going children. Within three months after he lost his job, he became mentally ill.
“When the Prime Minister of the country makes a promise, it should become a priority for the local lawmaker to take steps for its fulfillment; mainly because the image of the leadership in the community depends on its fulfillment of the pledge,” said Ayub Ali, another boatman of the community.
On November 15, 2009 a total of 186 boatmen from Basila-Washpur ghat submitted a signed petition to the Prime Minister’s Office at Tejgaon. They never heard back. The fate of the 186 remains in precarious balance.
Photos and Story by Morshed Ali Khan

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Posted by Reportsbd on Jun 3 2015. Filed under Home Slide, Special Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry