CHANDPUR, July 18: Umbrella and torchlight repairmen in Chandpur district and adjoining areas are facing a tough time for want of work this monsoon.
Sources said the local umbrella repairers cannot make a living for unavailability of sufficient works due to insufficient rainfall during the current rainy season.
Insufficient rainfall in the current monsoon and filling up and drying up of many canals and ditches in the district have created an acute dearth of works for the umbrella and torchlight repairers, making it difficult for many of them to make a living.
Chandpur district town's Chowdhury Ghat is a 50-year-old hub for umbrella and torchlight repairers.
They sit in a row in sheds on the roadside drains. For the past fifty years, they have been working in this profession generation after generation.
During the summer and rainy seasons when there occur torrential and non-stop rains very often day and night, the repairers remain usually awfully busy working on defective umbrellas and torch lights; also especially because a section of people find these two items as most essential equipment while going fishing in the ponds and canals at night.
From the time immemorial, many poor and small farmers have been hunting fish at night with tetas (fishing gear ) and torch lights as a means of livelihood.
But this year, during the rainy season, they have been passing bad days for survival due to absence of work resulting from less rainfall.
Talking to the FE, umbrella and fishing gear repairers- Ruhul Amin, Selim Gazi, Billal Gazi, Delowar Hossain, Hanif Mia, and others said they have been doing this business for the past 40 years through their forefathers.
For want of incessant or enough rainfall this year, they have no smiles on their faces this season, having hardly any work in hands.
They said this year there was far less rainfall than the previous several years. Consequently, they are suffering financially.
A repairer said, "We work hard to keep body and soul together. There are 30 repairers in this spot. They sit in a row. There are about 100 others in rural haats in Chandpur Sadar. A few of their colleagues have died so far." Selim Gazi (45) said he did not yet earn Tk100 even though it was 3.30pm on Monday.
For want of enough rainfall and lack of waters in the canals and wetlands, people are not buying fishing gears and repairing torch lights to hunt fish at night. Since morning, he had been waiting for customers.
Khorshed Alam (50) said he had earned Tk150 till 3.30 pm on Monday. They were looking and waiting for customers but in vain.
Selim said he sells a teta (fishing spear) with handle at Tk250 and repairs an umbrella for Tk30 to Tk50. He also repairs old torch light for Tk50 to Tk70 per piece. They told the FE when there is enough or heavy rainfall, they can earn much money around Tk 500/00 per day.
But on rainless days they usually earn Tk 200 daily on an average.
In this way, they keep body and soul together. Despite this, they remain satisfied with what they earn daily.
Umbrella repairers Robi, Jubayer, and others in Puranbazar of the town told the same stories.
In Bakila Bazar, a busy and bustling market beside Chandpur-Cumilla highway in Hajiganj upazila, umbrella repairers and teta makers -Shrikanto Saha and Madhav Saha also narrated the same stories.
They said they are getting very few customers daily for buying tetas, repairing old umbrellas and torch lights.
As there is not enough rainfall this season, they are passing hard days for want of money resulting from dearth of works.
At Matlab Dakshin Upazila's Munshirhat Bazar, Ruhul Amin (30) and some other umbrella repairers and teta sellers ( who are sitting beside roads with tents over heads) said, they cannot earn money for survival even this season for want of incessant rainfall and customers.
At Safarmali Bazar, Shahtoli Bazar and century old - Baburhat in Chandpur Sadar, Kartik Chandra and his colleagues also told the same tales of few customers and their sufferings for want of enough rainfall during this rainy season.
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