Van-gari wallahs: The rise of an unforeseen hero | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
July 11, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, JULY 11, 2025
Van-gari wallahs: The rise of an unforeseen hero

Panorama

Ummay Marzan Jui
08 May, 2020, 10:50 am
Last modified: 08 May, 2020, 11:03 am

Related News

  • One dies from COVID-19 in 24 hrs
  • Covid-19: Two more deaths, 7 new cases reported in 24hrs
  • Covid-19: One more death, 10 new cases reported in 24hrs
  • Three die from Covid-19 in 24 hrs
  • Five Covid-19 deaths reported in 24 hours, 36 new cases detected

Van-gari wallahs: The rise of an unforeseen hero

With factories closed and other sources of income diminishing, many people from low income groups have turned to selling vegetables on mobile carts in different areas of the city. In a time when even going out for groceries in difficult, these van-gari wallahs have become an important lifeline

Ummay Marzan Jui
08 May, 2020, 10:50 am
Last modified: 08 May, 2020, 11:03 am
For the last few days, van-gari wallahs are falling prey to hijackers and they complained police are not paying much heed to this problem.PHOTO: NOOR-A-ALAM
For the last few days, van-gari wallahs are falling prey to hijackers and they complained police are not paying much heed to this problem.PHOTO: NOOR-A-ALAM

With a hesitant face, Babu is standing in front of a cycle van and arranging the metal weights on a rusty weighing scale.

Large pieces of orange-coloured pumpkin, few bundles of slender arum-lobe, green spinach, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and coriander leaves, along with earthy potatoes are neatly displayed on the van.

Like other vendors, he is not trying to draw the customers' attention. Customers are voluntarily coming to the van, checking out the produce, bargaining and then buying.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

He is just measuring out the vegetables, packing them in paper bags and communicating as little as possible.

What Babu is doing today, is not his occupation. He used to work at a die cutting press factory in Arambagh.

In a family of seven members, he and his brother are the only wage earners.

Since the shutdown was imposed, he did not have any choice but to sell vegetables. He takes help from his brother who is involved in the same profession.

Eid-ul-Fitr is only weeks away, but Babu's factory owner has not yet asked him to return to work. Moreover, his saving is almost finished.

So, here he is in Arambagh, selling vegetables on a van and trying to make ends meet.   

Early in the morning, along with a group of local vendors, Babu's brother goes to Jatrabari to buy things in wholesale.

The brother then divides the produce between himself and Babu. Unlike other vendors, Babu does not roam around and is always seen near the same lane in Arambagh.

Usually these sellers start selling from 10am. Sometimes their business is closed by mid-day, sometimes they wait till dusk and take the slightly rotten or damaged vegetables home.

"We cannot afford to throw them away. So, we cut off the rotten parts and use the rest in our cooking," said Babu.

Some seasonal vendors in Arambagh claimed that ward councillors have given them permission to sit here and continue with their businesses. Amid the shutdown, it has eased the life of vendors like Babu, as well as that of local residents.

The shutdown may have slowed things down, but life has to go on anyway. A busy housewife, Rahela Akhter, was buying tomatoes and coriander leaves from Babu. She said, "During this crisis, getting groceries at a walking distance is no less than a blessing. These vendors sell fresh vegetables, that too at a price lower than kitchen markets."

Another customer, Ariful Islam, manager of Saiham Textile Mills Ltd, said, "I prefer buying from these vans than supermarkets as here I can maintain physical distance. My wife is a doctor and she is at the hospital most of the time. It is not possible for me to leave our children unsupervised at home for long. So, I buy things from here, which is near my house."

In the beginning of the shutdown, it was tough to make law enforcers understand that these sellers are actually providing emergency services. However, recently they have been allowed to smoothly move around different areas.

However, for the last few days, a new problem has arisen, which is hijacking. According to some of the vendors, the police do not pay much heed to this issue. Hence, they have found their own solutions of using CNG auto-rickshaws as transport and always traveling in groups.

With a sigh, vendor Ikramul Islam said, "Problems do not end for us. Even when we are earning while risking our lives, we still have to bribe the police and now the rate is twice as higher than usual. Yet, they do not allow us to station on main roads after 4pm. So we move our carts to colonies or different alleys."

The meagre profit that they make is nothing compared to the hardships they endure. Yet, without these vendors, life would have been hard for many households in the city.

The supplies are bought in wholesale from Karwan Bazar, Keraniganj, Wais Ghat and Jatrabari.

Being perishable items, these have to be sold within days. Moreover, unfavourable weather conditions such as rain and fewer customers than usual stops Ikramul and others from buying in bulk.

Ikramul shared that to buy the vegetables, the sellers pool money (Tk2,000-Tk4,000 per person) and their individual profit per day is around Tk500 or Tk1,000.

Those who buy in bulk, buy only one item and their investment is usually more than Tk7,000. It gives them a profit of around Tk1,500 or more. Such vendors mostly sell goods at markets or move around multiple areas in the city.

"Our highest profit is Tk5 per kilo, but it is not fixed," informed Azizur, another vendor. On some days, they sell goods at a loss so that things do not get rotten or wasted.

Roaming around different places increases their risk of contracting the coronavirus. But that does not bother Ikramul or any vendors like him.

Another vendor, Itraj Sheikh said, "I stayed at home for one week but did not get any relief. No one is going to help me with a meal, I understood that. If I do not earn today, how will I feed my children tomorrow?"

Few of them even think that this pandemic is nothing but a myth. They do not wear any masks or gloves and do not bother to maintain social distance.

Salma Begum's five daughters are studying. She used to bear this cost by managing a mess. But now, the city is vacant and she does not have any client.

So, she is selling goods with her unemployed husband.

She was visibly irritated when asked why none of them were wearing any protective equipment.

She said working with hand gloves on only makes things difficult.  

"All these illnesses – they are only happening to the rich. The poor like us are going to be fine. The Almighty will take care of us," said Salma.

Top News

Vendors / Hero / vegetables / COVID-19 / Coronavirus / Van-gari wallahs

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Abul Barkat at Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 11 July 2025. Photo: TBS
    Economist Abul Barkat sent to jail in Tk297cr embezzlement case
  • BNP senior leader Salahuddin Ahmed. Photo: Collected
    No scope for electoral alliance with Jamaat, door not closed for NCP: BNP's Salahuddin
  • Sketch: TBS
    No peace through concession — only struggle secures tomorrow

MOST VIEWED

  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
    Govt vehicle purchase, foreign trip, new building construction banned: Finance ministry
  • Students sit for SSC exam at Motijheel Girls' High School on 10 April 2025. Photo: Mehedi Hasan/TBS
    SSC exam results out: Here's how you can check online and via SMS
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • Representational image. Photo: Collected
    35% tariff: Bangladesh, US 'agree on most issues' as first day of talks ends

Related News

  • One dies from COVID-19 in 24 hrs
  • Covid-19: Two more deaths, 7 new cases reported in 24hrs
  • Covid-19: One more death, 10 new cases reported in 24hrs
  • Three die from Covid-19 in 24 hrs
  • Five Covid-19 deaths reported in 24 hours, 36 new cases detected

Features

Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

21h | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

1d | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

1d | Panorama
Photo: Rajib Dhar/TBS

11 July 2024: Riot vehicles, water cannons hit the streets as police crack down on protesters

17h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

34m | TBS Stories
Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

Threat of 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods

1h | TBS World
Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

Israel ready to strike back if Iran threatens: Katz

3h | TBS World
India is strengthening ties with Israel

India is strengthening ties with Israel

4h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net