United News of Bangladesh

An organisation of autorickshaw and tempo workers said its members are not getting food aid from the district administrations although the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR) in a letter on March 29 asked them to extend support.   An official document, received by UNB, shows the MDMR issued a letter to all deputy commissioners (DCs) asking them to prepare a list of all the daily wage earners who lost their employments due to Covid-19 to provide them food support.    It said the Prime Minister has asked to provide food support by preparing a list of beggars, day labourers, rickshaw pullers, van drivers, transport workers, restaurant workers, vendors, teastall owners, especially those who depend on their daily earnings.   Besides, food support has to be provided to people including agriculture workers by preparing city corporation, municipality and union parishad-based lists.   “This lists have to be prepared in coordination with affluent people, organisations and NGOs who are also providing support so that any duplication could be avoided,” mentioned the letter signed by Md Shah Kamal, senior secretary of the ministry.   Mentioning the directives of the letter, leaders of Bangladesh Auto-rickshaw-Autotempo Transport Workers Federation (BAATWF) alleged that as a transport sector workers association, they submitted a list of auto-rickshaw and auto-tempo workers to the district administrations to help them enlist their names in their lists.    “But so far we got no response from DC offices except in few districts,” Golam Faruk, BAATWF general secretary, told UNB.    “Even we submitted our area-based workers list to DC office in Dhaka and Dhaka North and South City Corporations, but so far got no response,” he added.   He said drivers of CNG-run auto-rickshaws are passing days in misery as they have been left without work amid the nationwide shutdown aimed at curbing coronavirus.   Faruk said like other vehicles, three-wheelers also remained off the streets after the government shut all modes of transportation across the country from March 26.   Usually, auto-rickshaw drivers earn money on a daily basis. They have no work now, putting the drivers and their families in serious trouble.   Normally, an auto-rickshaw driver earns about Tk 500 a day after meeting others expenses, including deposit to auto-rickshaw owner, he added.