Despite suffering acute hardships during the pandemic-induced lockdown, most of the rickshaw- pullers did not receive assistance from the government or any other sources mainly due to the unavailability of a database.
Besides, most of them had to reduce their daily meals to two-time instead of three-time while many others had to borrow money from others to survive, speakers tolled a roundtable discussion on Tuesday.
They also called for not banning rickshaws on different routes without arranging alternative income sources for the rickshaw-pullers.
The roundtable discussion on 'Life and livelihood of rickshaw-pullers in Dhaka city during lockdown: Way forward to their efficient safeguard' was organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) at the city's CIRDAP Auditorium.
Parliamentary Standing Committee Member on the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education Shirin Akhter attended the roundtable as the chief guest with BILS Vice Chairman Anwar Hossain in the chair.
Prof Md Rezaul Karim of the Social Work Department of Jagannath University presented the keynote paper at the event moderated by BILS Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.
Kazi Saifun Newaz, assistant professor of the Accident Research Institute (ARI), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Kamrul Ahsan and Mesbahuddin Ahmed, joint coordinators of Shramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), and Md Insur Ali, general secretary of Bangladesh Rickshaw-van Sramik League, spoke among others.
Shirin Akhter said many people in the country are yet to attain minimum living standard when Bangladesh is celebrating golden jubilee of its independence.
"It's unfortunate for us to come at this time and talk about improving the quality of life," she said.
She called for preparing a comprehensive database of rickshaw-pullers to end the harassments and abuses they go through alongside various programmes to improve their living standard.
Presenting the keynote paper, Mr Rezaul Karim said rickshaw-pullers and related activities comprise a significant portion of the country's informal sector.
According to a study by BILS, there are about 1.1 million rickshaws and about 2.2 million rickshaw-puller families in Dhaka city, he said.
He also noted that the income of rickshaw-pullers had dropped by about 50 per cent during the lockdowns in the country.
Prof Dr Adil Mohammed Khan of the Urban and
Regional Planning Department of Jahangirnagar University said the non-motorised vehicle is a mode of transport for the most commoners so the rickshaw-pullers should get due respects.
He also called for arranging alternative income sources for the rickshaw-pullers before restricting the vehicle on any route.
He laid emphasis on strategies to determine how many rickshaws will run in which areas of Dhaka city, saying there also should be a plan on who will join the profession.
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