You stumble I catch

A group of youths in Thakurgaon town are being praised for their non-profit initiative named '30% discount store'.

The store has been doing a tremendous service to the town's low-income residents who have been in a dire situation due to Covid-19 shutdowns.

A large section of the society -- especially daily wage earners such as rickshaw pullers, day labourers, masons, painters and carpenters -- is going through financial crisis due to job loss caused by the shutdowns.

At a time when prices of essentials are on the rise and many of the people in the low-income group are out of jobs, the discount store has appeared as a much-needed respite for the townspeople.

Essentials including rice, lentil, potato, onion, sugar, salt, edible oil, spices, eggs and soaps are being sold at the store every day in front of the cooperative market in the town.

A group of students united under Facebook group 'Julum Bosti' primarily launched the initiative with funds raised from group members. Many locals have also been sending contributions to the group.   

Volunteers wear face masks and gloves while attending the store and they ensure buyers form lines maintaining a minimum of six feet physical distance between each other.

Number of buyers continues to rise since the store opened more than a month ago. Chick pea, a popular food ingredient in meals during the month of Ramadan, has recently been included in the list of items sold at the store.

About 60 to 70 people turned up on the inaugural day. Currently the store serves nearly 160 to 170 people on an average day. Operation hours of the store are 3:00pm to 6:00pm daily.

The volunteers put up an updated hand-written price list in front of the store every day to evade any confusion. Moreover, to ensure availability of the essentials for all at reduced price, there is a quantity restriction on each item sold at the store. 

Each buyer is allowed to buy a maximum of two kilograms of coarse rice, one kg potato, half kg lentil, one litre edible oil, half kg onion, 250 grams ginger, 250 gm garlic, half kg salt, four eggs, one antiseptic soap and one laundry soap each day.    

Al Asma-ul-Husna Mithun, one of the organisers, told the Daily Star that they opened the discount store on April 1 with an aim to lend a hand to the vulnerable section of the society who have been feeling the brunt of the restrictions imposed nationwide to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

In early days, they used to spend around Tk 3,000 against the difference between the cost and sale price of the commodities available at the store. With growing popularity of the store, the figure has gradually reached as high as about Tk 5,000. 

Aside from bearing the price difference, they also give away fresh produce to each buyer at no additional cost, he said adding that local growers have been donating the produce to the store as part of their responsibility to the low-income group.

"Within two weeks into the journey, we stumbled and were compelled to stop our operations for a day due to fund crisis. But thanks to spontaneous support we received from different quarters, we soon pulled together and resumed operations." 

They hope that they would be able to serve the community until normalcy is restored following the lifting of the precautionary measures imposed by the authorities.

Explaining how it all started, Mithun said their group was created about two years back to do great things for the community.    

Since then, nearly 30 to 40 members of the group had been contributing Tk 100 each month to raise funds for different welfare activities geared toward the disadvantaged who are in need of warm clothes during the winter or financial help for treatment.

Witnessing sufferings of the jobless and the low-income population amid the Covid-19 shutdowns, they felt the urge to stand beside them as well. The initial fund of Tk 5,000 was received as prize money that the group members had received by winning the championship title of a local cricket tournament, held just before the outbreak of the pandemic. The members put together another Tk 8,000 for the cause. 

During the early days, they used to sell around Tk 12,000 worth of goods each day and now the amount stands at Tk 20,000 daily, Mithun said, adding that their group members as well as well-wishers are their primary source of funds for the store.

Painter Sundar Ali, 44, who was standing in a queue in front of the store while this correspondent was visiting, said "I don't have any income since last week of March... This store has been a blessing for people like us who gets to buy commodities at discounted rates here." 

Another buyer, Jahanara Begum, said she received food relief from the deputy commissioner's office. But she had to come to the discount store to buy other necessary items -- such as salt, edible oil and onion -- that were not included in the food relief she had received. 

Besides, free vegetables are an added benefit of shopping at the store, said the 38-year-old with a tone of relief in her voice.  

Contacted, Thakurgaon Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abdullah Al Mamun said as a means to reaching out to the disadvantaged during the shutdowns, his administration has decided to set up similar discount stores in every union of the upazila in collaboration with the Julum Bosti group.

One such store has already been opened in Akcha union and process is underway to open stores in other unions, he added.