Photo : Messenger
Due to the quota reform protest, the sudden closure of university the shopkeepers in front of main gate of Pabna Science and Technology University (PUST) are in trouble.
Many shops have already been closed due to lack of students, some shops are about to close. In this situation, after solving all the problems, the shopkeepers appealed to the government to open the university soon.
There are 17 shops including hotels and tea stalls at the entrance of Pabna University of Science and Technology. Ten of them have been closed in the past week. The shopkeepers have closed the shops temporarily and taken work elsewhere due to absence of students. Some started working in farms, some as day laborers.
The shopkeepers said that the shops significantly depend on students. Consequently, when the university is closed and students went home, the shops remain empty. However, some workers are coming to the shop as the project work is going on in the university. Otherwise all the shops would have been closed, they said. But if the campus is not opened soon, the rest of the shops will also be closed.
Ziaul Haque is the owner of Zihad store in front of the university. He has a small family of four with two children and a wife. Ziaul runs his family solely by selling tea, cigarettes, bread etc. But due to the sudden shut down of the university, the sales are down. While he used to sell more than 6,000 taka a day, it has fallen below 1,500 now. It is difficult for Ziaul Haque to run his family after paying shop rent and installments. Ziaul Haque said, 'Three thousand taka have to be paid for shop rent, there are installments, and family expenses. I feel helpless right now. I don't even know when this campus opens. No one knows how we will proceed next except God.'
Zamela Store’s located after two shops of Jihad Store. Mofazzal Mia, the owner of the shop, said, "Now I can't think of anything what I should do. I want to leave everything and run away. Even though the university opened after the Eid-ul-Azha holiday, most of the students did not come because the teachers' movement. Even then, the shop was running fairly with some students and officials in the hall. But it was all over with the sudden closure of the university. Now I can not even sell 10 cups of tea a day. Business is running very bad. We will appeal to the government, it is very difficult for us to move. Please open the campus and save us.'
Messenger/Mamun/Nishat
