A report that made all the difference

Rickshaw puller Shumi would always wear a gamchha (local scarf) around her neck. She was using the gamchha to wipe away her tears the other day. Her rickshaw is her source of income. Every day she has to pay Tk 200 to the rickshaw owner as rental fee.

But that day, 21 April this year, she just earned Tk 80 taka the whole day as she didn’t get many passengers. The pandemic had kept passengers off the street and Shumi Cruz was left in tears.

Prothom Alo online on 21 April published a report about her predicament, along with her in tears. The report caught attention of information minister Hasan Mahmud and the very next day he arranged to provide her with a Tk 80,000 auto-rickshaw of her own.

Now Shumi drives her auto-rickshaw all over Rajshahi city, smiles replacing her tears. Over a decade ago, she has arrived in Rajshahi city from Barogram upazila of Natore with her two children.

Shumi said, "Everyone of this city treats me like an outsider. And as I am a registered voter of Baraigram, I didn’t get any kind of relief in the city."

When the Prothom Alo correspondent met her on 21 April, she said, "Plying a rickshaw the entire day is very tough task. Sometimes I feel like dying, things can be so unbearable."

"If I had some rice and dal (lentils), I wouldn't leave. I would have stayed at home and looked after my grandchild,"’ she said. She had to pay Tk 350 a day to the rickshaw owner before the pandemic started. The owner decreased the amount to Tk 200 taka because of the coronavirus pandemic. But she couldn’t even earn that much.

She doesn't know her exact age. She knows she was born just after the country became independent in 1971. Her husband died leaving her with two children. She then took shelter at her father’s home. When the father passed away, she became homeless.

Finally she came to Rajshahi city to earn a living. She got a menial job at a private clinic and started to live a slum near the city’s Pathar railway intersection. Her elder son married recently but he can't work because of his heart disease. So Shumi takes the entire family’s burden on her shoulders.

When the report caught the attention of information minister, he made a phone call to Dablu Sarkar, general secretary of Rajshahi city Awami League.

He asked Dablu to ensure Shumi got everything she needs. The next day she received a phone call and was requested to come to the Prothom Alo Rajshahi office at city’s Kumar para area. Dablu handed over the key of a brand new auto-rickshaw to her, along with Tk 5000.

She was overjoyed and said, "I don’t have to rent a rickshaw anymore. Now I have my own auto-rickshaw. This is a special moment in my life."

Hearing the tale, Matiur Rahman, the ward councilor of Rajshahi city-7, arranged relief for her, which includes 15 kg rice, four kg lentils and five kg potatoes.

Md Hamidur Rahman, commissioner of Rajshahi district told Prothom Alo that he wants to take the responsibility of Shumi.

Md Hamidur gave her Tk 3000 and other essentials including rice, lentils and asked her not to drive her auto-rickshaw amid the pandemic. After receiving the ajuto-rickshaw, she came to the Prothom Alo Rajshahi office with Bangladesh Chattra League Leader Abdullah Hil Baki.

BCL leader Baki handed over rice, lentils and onions to her as a relief. Apart from this, a few individuals have sent her money anonymously through Bkash.

Then Shumi suddenly one day received a threat from a miscreant, saying that she has to hand over her new auto-rickshaw to him, otherwise she couldn’t stay at that area. She informed Prothom Alo of the matter.

Later, the newspaper informed the concerned police station’s officer-in-charge Shahadat Hossain. The police immediately identified the miscreant and ensured he left the locality within 24 hours.

Now Shumi talks with a smile on her face. In dark days, when a report brings light to a person's' life , it certainly is a special report, a report that makes all the difference.