By Priscilla Raj

[Editorial note: Priscilla set off to find the real impact of price rise in the most poverty stricken region of Bangladesh — the extreme Southern part of the country in the remotest of chars. This series, the partial cost for which is being borne by this blog, is a reflection on that trip. Hope you will find this series, the third of which is being published today, to be interesting and fascinating as this is a part of the country whose voice is often unheard in our conversations

After Part 1 and Part 2, here is the part 3. In the midst of the recent debate concerning, the Washington Post's rice crisis in Bangladesh, these reports from the grassroots, gives a telling and contrasting picture and tells the story of strength of our people.
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Sun that lights the Nights

Dhalchar Bazaar is ten minutes walk from the boat anchorage of the island. The crowd of skyward antennas attracts the eyes first. These are mostly to strengthen the wave of the mobile phones that is very feeble in this southernmost island. White glows of the tube lights spread weakly in front of the shops. The source of the light was not visible though. They were the solar power units installed on the roofs.

Government electricity department has yet to reach Dhalchar. Solar panels as electricity production unit were introduced in 1999 by Coastal Association for Social Transformation (COAST), one of the very few NGOs working in this island. Md. Mahbubur Rahman, Manager of Dhalchar unit of the organization informed that 44 solar panels have been sold so far. Recently Grameen Shakti, a sister organization Grameen conglomerate has started its selling.


COAST sells solar units with three different capacities:

i. 40 watt - Lights three eight-watt lights, a plug-point for 14″ black and white TV and two other plug-points to charge mobile phones. Price 29,280 taka inclusive of service charges.
ii. 50 watt - Lights four eight-watt lights, a plug-point for running 17″ black and white TV and two other plug-points to charge mobile phones. Price 36,950 taka inclusive of service charges.
iii. 75 watt - Lights six eight-watt lights, a plug-point for running 20″ black and white TV and three other plug-points to charge mobile phones. Price 52,000 taka inclusive of service charges.

Each solar panel has four parts - the solar panel, battery, charge controller and the circuit. They give 20-year guarantee for the solar panel that is set on the roof, three years for the charge controller and two years for the circuit. Free service is given for three years.

Selim Howladar has a grocery shop in Dhalchar Bazaar. This bazaar was established just after the war in 1971. Selim is doing business in this bazaar for last ten years. He has bought this panel one year ago from Grameen Shokti. The panel has been bought for 933 taka installment per month to be continued for three years. He runs his three shops with one panel.

Most people in Dhalchar buy solar panels for their business organizations, to run the shops, arats and restaurants. Families having their houses adjacent to their shops take one or two lines for their home, too. Hafez Saiful Islam, an owner of a wholesale fish seller, has a solar panel exclusively for his home use. Hafez lives in the Bhadrapara Ashrayan Prokolpo, the government housing project for the homeless people in Dhalchar. He informed that as their land was taken over by the government for this housing project, they were given two flats as compensation. There is a light in their kitchen also, a truly rare privilege enjoyed in this remote island. Of their three sons and a daughter, the eldest son is a SSC candidate. The electric lights are a good help.

Of the sixty families in the housing project only Hafez has got the solar facility proving that only the well-off afford it for their house in the island. Mahboob, the COAST employee said that in other areas people form groups to buy the facility and share it. But in Dhalchar people buy it only for their individual use. Perhaps a well-coordinated group system could enable the less well-off people of the island to enjoy the facilities. But who would take the pain to organize people for that?

Under the Rauna Tree
Rauna seems to be a local species in the island of Bhola. With the emergence of any island the government forest department starts its routine afforestation work to stabilize the land usually with the mangrove species. A great part of Dhalchar also is covered by the forest created by the forest department. However, Rauna tree to be one of its naturally grown trees. “It becomes a big and hard tree used as house-pillars,” said peasant Nur Islam showing a young Rauna tree on the roadside. The seeds of Rauna found in the small round-shaped fruits give oil that is used as a herbal massage oil as well as for cooking. With the spread of population, alternative housing materials and cooking oil, Rauna has lost its importance to the humans. The tree is frequently found all over Bhola, as Afjal, the local journalist said. Photographs have been sent to Mokarram Hossain, the noted writer and lover of trees to find its botanical identity.

After Selim Faraji was swept away in the Sea

Fisherman Selim Faraji never returned from his last fishing trip to the sea three years ago. It was a fateful journey in which 17 fishermen in the same fishing boat had been swept away. Selim was poor and lived with his wife and two sons in the khas land (government land) at nearby Mainka Char under Mainka Union. Shirin, Selim’s wife along with their children now lives with her parents in Char Kachchapia near the boat dock.

Shah Alam, Shirin’s father is a rickshaw puller. He is a man of near sixty. He came from Daulatkhan Upazila to Char Kachchapia about 30 years ago as the river eroded his home and livelihood. Here they do not have any cultivating land. The land on which this house is built is a khas land. For last five years Shah Alam has been pulling the rickshaw.

Shah Alam has five to six persons to feed with his rickshaw-puller’s earning. Shirin or her mother brings rice or other help by ‘asking’ the neighborhood. “This season we didn’t get half kg rice even as the crops have been ruined,” said Anwara Begum, Shirin’s mother. Today Shah Alam got 55 taka from rickshaw-pulling. With this he bought one and a quarter kg of rice, half kg onions and 125 ml of edible oil. Some of the price he will pay later.

Shah Alam did not go to work yesterday because of weakness. “I cooked for them with the muthi chal.” Muthi chal or musti chal is the handful of rice women set aside each time they cook rice, an age old household practice of women to fight the harder days.

Hassan and Laden are two sons of Selim Faraji. Hassan has been admitted to Nurani Madrassah two months ago. The Madrassah charges 300 taka annually and 20 kg rice per month. “We could not give the rice still,” said Anwara.

Shirin was not home when we had visited her family. She was out to ask help from the neighbors. She or her mother does not have any work with which they can earn. Here except for housemaid’s work there is not much scope of work for women. Elsewhere in the country women working for road building or in the crop fields have become a common scene. Bhola remains exception still probably for its traditional conservativeness about letting women work outside home. Nevertheless, more women are moving to Dhaka now, mostly to find work in the garments factories, tell the local people. Shirin could not come to Dhaka as her sons are too young, said Anwara.

To be continued