Bangladesh: Tobacco Calls the Shots

Source from:  The Daily Star  04/18/2014

As tobacco harvest is going on in some 50 villages in Lalmonirhat district, people are using dried tobacco leaves to meet their daily necessities instead of money.

As homesteads are awash with tobacco here, everybody——from hawkers to shop owners——takes tobacco in exchange for commodities. Even, beggars get tobacco as alms.

Much to everybody's surprise, madrasa students in Khuniyagachh village under Sadar upazila are collecting tobacco from farmers to raise funds for their upkeep.

Moulana Ashraf Ali, principal of the madrasa, said the institution is being run with the locals' largesse. Farmers are helping them as per their capacity.

"We get some 100 to 125 maunds of tobacco leaves every year and raise funds for the madrasa after selling them," he added.

Shahjahan Miah, a madrasa student, said, "We gather tobacco from the farmers during the harvest period every year. We give the money coming from the tobacco sale to the madrasa funds.."

"We get around four maunds of tobacco leaves a day," said another student Abdul Quddus.

Farmer Asir Uddin of the same village said, "We donate tobacco leaves, we give beggars tobacco leaves and we are also using the leaves, instead of money, for purchasing daily commodities from hawkers and village shops."

Schoolteacher Atiar Rahman, also a tobacco trader of Purbo Kalmati village, said villagers are swapping the leaves for daily commodities.

Mohor Ali, who makes a living hawking goods in Anandabazar village, said he sells different commodities like dried fish, clothes, cosmetics, toys and baby foods in exchange for tobacco leaves.

"The leaves are considered money during the peak period of tobacco harvest in many villages in Lalmonirhat," he asserted.

Rahela, 62, a beggar in Kalmati village, said she gets tobacco as alms from the locals during the period.

"I collect 10 to 12 kilograms of dried tobacco leaves every day. I earn Tk 180 to Tk 210 by selling them," she observed.　Enditem