From dawn trains to empty hands: Rajshahi’s jogalis struggle for daily work
River erosion, shrinking farmland and limited opportunities have pushed thousands of rural workers towards city-based labour over the decades
A nor'wester swept through the night. Cold winds and bursts of rain hit the station, leaving the almost deserted Sardah Road platform silent. No lights were visible. Only now and then, the faint groan of a sleeping old woman broke the stillness.
From a distance, a lone light appeared through the darkness, slowly drawing closer. The 3:30am Padma Express pulled into Sardah Road Station at 3:55am, the last stoppage before Rajshahi.
One by one, five men crossed the station and boarded a compartment. Each carried a plastic bag. Three had baskets and spades slung over their shoulders.
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A journey begins before dawn
We approached them and learned their names: Rezap Ali, 65; Billal Hossen, 57, Rezap's relative; and Lal Mohammad, 60 — construction day labourers, locally known as jogalis.
"Where will you go now?" we asked Lal Mohammad. He smiled, his sleepy eyes struggling to focus. "We will head to a nearby tea stall, have some tea and pass the time chatting until 6am, then leave to find work," he said. We followed them.
Setting his gear aside, Lal called out, "Kasem, put on four cups of tea! We have guests." Their hospitality and openness showed a willingness to welcome outsiders.
For the next hour, we spoke with Lal and Rezap. Billal remained mostly quiet, with a faint smile. His hands and feet were covered with eczema blisters.
From conversations with them, it emerged that paddy season has begun in the villages, and many jogalis are returning for harvest work. In the city, meanwhile, work is scarce, forcing many to return home empty-handed.
"We come here every day, but get work only three or four days at most, some weeks just two," said Rezap. Billal said he worked only two days that week.
"In the city, we can get Tk700–750. If it is contract work, it can go up to Tk800–900. But in the villages, there is hardly any money. You might get only Tk350–400 for a whole day" Kakon Sarkar, a jogali from Godagari, Rajshahi.
At Railgate: Waiting for work
Around six in the morning, Rezap and Lal set off for Fultoli, outside the city, where they had found contract work. Billal, meanwhile, headed towards the Railgate area in search of work. We followed him.
At the Railgate intersection, at least 30 jogalis gathered, waiting for a hirer. Some moved towards nearby tea stalls, passing time. Most carried baskets and spades, while others had crowbars, hand saws and sickles.
As in Railgate, hundreds of workers travel miles from Charghat, Poba, Godagari, Bagha, Puthia, Tanore and Baghmara to the city each day in search of work. They gather at intersections — Talaimari, Court Station, Koroitola, Binodpur, Shahid Kamrujjaman Chattar, Luxmipur and Bhodra — waiting to be hired. If not, they return home.
Work without certainty
Over the decades, river erosion, lack of arable land, limited work opportunities and illiteracy have pushed them towards city-based labour.
Their journey is often long and physically demanding, and does not always result in work. Billal was dozing off while waiting. He lost his wife five years ago and now lives with his only son.
"Many bring panta bhat [watered rice], roti, things like that. My son and I cook two meals a day. In the morning, I come here and eat whatever I can get. What else can I do?" he said.
Like him, many older men sat waiting. Some paced slowly. When they spotted someone on a motorbike or in decent clothes, they became alert. "Need labour? What kind of work? Where do we have to go?" they called out.
A man in a shirt and trousers arrived on a Pulsar 150 motorbike. A group of labourers surrounded him. Within minutes, six jogalis were hired to carry sand at a construction site and left with their tools.
The work of jogalis ranges from digging earth and carrying bricks and sand to dumping construction debris and cleaning household yards. "There is no fixed kind of work. We do whatever we get," said Anis Mia from Puthia.
Wages and competition
Meanwhile, Billal had returned empty-handed for the past two days. With labourers now abundant, work has become harder to find, he said. We left the Railgate intersection unsure whether he would find any work that day.
It is past 7am. At least 100 workers have gathered at the Court Station intersection. Rows of bicycles are parked along the side, each with a basket and a spade tied to the back. Every few minutes, two or three more arrive, park their bicycles, and join the waiting crowd. Hirers come, pick a group and leave.
Court Station is the city's busiest hiring spot, where jogalis from Godagari and Tanore upazilas gather.
We asked those still waiting about their wages. "Digging earth. From 8am to 3pm. Payment Tk700. Food on our own," one said.
Wages here are higher than in the villages. Jogalis typically earn Tk600–700 for seven to eight hours of work. "In the city, we can get Tk700–750. If it is contract work, it can go up to Tk800–900. But in the villages, there is hardly any money. You might get only Tk350–400 for a whole day," said Kakon Sarkar from Godagari.
No safety net
However, when many labourers stay in the villages, shortages emerge in the city, pushing up demand and wages.
There is no central wage board for these informal labourers. According to the Rajshahi Labour Department, they are not included in any services. Nor are there labour unions working for their rights.
Debt and survival
A father of four, Tozammel supports his family's daily expenses, his children's education and other needs. But his earnings fall short.
I get the chance to work about four days a week at most. I earn Tk2,500–2,800, maybe up to Tk3,000. Out of that, my instalments alone are Tk1,800," Abdul said.
Six months ago, he took a Tk60,000 loan from an NGO, mainly to repay an earlier debt. With limited income, most of it has already gone into household expenses.
"When there is less work, there are weeks when I cannot even pay the instalments. Then the pressure builds up again," he said.
"This reflects the condition of the lower-income working class in both rural and urban Bangladesh. A cycle of debt is being created. At least 95% of labourers in this region are in this trap," said Md Atiqul Islam, professor of economics at the University of Rajshahi.
The long way back
At Court Station, some labourers began their journey back home, unable to find work. By the time they left, it was past 10am.
As the day wore on, the city grew hotter. Across different parts of the city, labourers continued working. By 3pm, their work ended, and the long journey home began again.
