“All the apples have become rotten as I could not sell them in time due to the lack of customers amid the continuous blockades. My capital has been drained,” he told the Daily Sun in a frustrating tone.

He said people’s movement outside home had decreased alarmingly since the beginning of the recent political unrest. Besides, the rise in fruit prices coupled with increased transport costs as a result of the turmoil had reduced his sales.

Billal, who hails from Cumilla’s Debidwar upazila, had to struggle for years to shift his business from a rickshaw van to a four-foot by two-foot roadside shop. According to him,

He said he had faced some crises last month. In the first week of October, his mother fell ill due to old age-related complications and was admitted to a hospital. She got well after nine days.

Then in the middle of the month, he spent over Tk1 lakh to marry his younger sister off to an expatriate groom, who came to the country for two months on leave.

Finally, in the last week, he and his wife had to run from one hospital to another as their 11-year-old eldest son tested positive for dengue fever with a very low platelet count.

“As you see, I was severely affected by the crises. Despite facing all those, I returned to business to make ends meet, but the injudicious blockade has turned the knife in my wound,” Billal said.

He said he has been struggling to pay the shop rent, let alone meeting the daily needs of his six-member family. People are now buying fewer fruits to cope with the runaway inflation. Therefore, he is thinking of shifting his business to a rickshaw van again.

“This cannot continue for an indefinite period. Our politicians say they do politics for the masses. If that is true, they must consider our situation and find an acceptable solution to bring normalcy back to the country,” he said.