Improvised motor vehicles hold immense prospect for rural Bangladesh

Md Saidur Rahman in the first of his three-part articleA motorised goods carrier locally known as Kariman, Alamshadhu, Nasiman, covered van etc., improvised in Bangladesh villages costs approximately Tk 85,000-Tk 100,000 each. This carrier can transport around 1800 kgs of goods. Whereas a commercial vehicle, such as a pickuptruck of the same capacity imported from abroad, costs around Tk 700,000-Tk 800,000. The motor vehicles manufactured in Bangladesh villages carry agricultural products and other goods, such as sugarcane, from crop fields to mills within a short time, while bullock carts would have taken may be a day or more for the same distance. Minimum 300,000 or more of such vehicles are produced by now. It means around 300,000 people are using these vehicles to make their livelihoods and supporting the rural households. Around 2000 young people are engaged in around 100 vehicle manufacturing workshops in Kushtia district alone. Compared to small Tata and Mahindra commercial vehicles, our domestic vehicles are more efficient in carrying goods, consuming less fuel, lasting longer with little maintenance cost. Proper technical and policy support and incentives to such potential industries would help strengthen the domestic vehicle industries. It would bring about revolutionary changes in the communication systems, save hard-earned foreign exchange by cutting import of foreign vehicles, and further accelerate economic growth. Bangladesh has a poor and still weak economic backbone. Thanks to slow but gradual industrialisation, the huge unskilled labour forces of the country are shifting from hard-pressed agriculture sector to small, medium and big industries. The contribution of particular manufacturing industries to the gross domestic product (GDP) is also increasing year by year. Over the decades, the overall rural settings have undergone a tremendous change. Road communications have been expanded up to the remotest villages of each district. Bullock and horse drawn carts are now rarely seen, and are not suitable for the modern roads in most places either. Then what happens to transportation of agricultural commodities from the crop fields to houses and market places? How do the farmers carry their goods, in absence of carts, from place to place in rural market networks within their reach? There is no worry among the farmers any more for the disappearance of bullock carts. Bullock and horse carts are now replaced by the motorised vehicles. During our visits to the rural vehicle manufacturing workshops, we observed the uses of the vehicles, and interviewed the industry owners, the farmers as well as the community people to understand the growth and necessity of the rural vehicle industry. Even though successive governments have not yet paid due attention to solve the transportation problem of the poor rural farm-households, the rural engineers have come forward and developed necessary vehicles to fit in the transportation system for the community. These rural vehicles have made way for the farmers to quickly carry their commodities to mills and market places and to the nearby towns. The villagers can use these vehicles to quickly go to hospitals and other places. As a matter of fact, if these vehicles had not been available locally, the farmers would have suffered a lot with their goods, because neither the big trucks or imported pickups can access the remote roads and crop fields, nor can the poor farmers afford them. Around 73 per cent of the population lives in the rural areas. The matter of transportation of rural people and their goods through the narrow rural road networks is not negligible. Rather, quicker communication in the rural areas can strengthen socio-economic infrastructure of the country, because the urban population depend mostly on the supply from the rural communities. A case study on manufacturing rural transports: After independence of Bangladesh, the famous Mohini Mills of Kushtia was closed, and also the Kushtia Textile Mills adjacent to Vadalia Bazar became weak, and subsequently it was also closed. Following the closure of these mills, the economy of Kushtia was shattered. Unemployment rate rose and the overall socio-economic condition worsened. Some sections link the acute unemployment crisis in the last decade in areas like Alampur and Vadalia of Kushtia district to the rise of unemployment and engagement of the unemployed youth in anti-social underground party activities. Alhaj Abdur Rashid started a workshop in 1996 in a tiny space to manufacture rural transports called 'Nasiman, Kariman, Alamshadhu' etc., to meet the local transportation needs. He started employing half-educated or uneducated but talented rural youths in his workshop, and trained them in lathe machine operations, welding, gas cutting, making and assembling of parts, and manufacturing small vehicles. Haji Rashid himself comes of a very poor family. His diligence, sincerity, and keen interest in mechanical works have made him an industrialist by now. He imports engines from China. He requests our leaders to take necessary steps to make such engines in Bangladesh so that we can keep our money within the country, and produce our engines and vehicles for domestic purposes, and thus build a strong economic infrastructure in few year. People from all over the country now come to Rashid Engineering Workshop for quality vehicles. It would not be superfluous to say that Vadar Bazar has now turned into a small industrial belt with the help of Rashid and his rural vehicles. Dozens of the similar workshops are built now on his model, employing hundreds of youth. With a gesture of contentment Haji Rashid comments that the rural vehicles like Nasiman, Kariman, covered vans etc. are solving unemployment problem significantly. These vehicles are helping our agro-based rural economy tremendously. If the government provides necessary support, they can make stronger base for manufacturing buses and trucks for our domestic purposes. The government agencies still officially do not recognise these vehicles, and are not providing route permits for these. Haji Rashid drew the attention of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Industries, and other government ministries and departments concerned to the welfare of these rural industries. He assures that if boosted up, these industries hold better future for Bangladesh. The writer is a researcher and can be reached at email: msaidurbd@yahoo.com rsmcenter@yahoo.com