The bamboo-splitters of Dhubri

Mainuddin Pramanik, 35, comes to Dhubri every day from Kuntir char. He is a father of four, who earns an income by meticulously splitting the bamboos with a machete – a task locally called basher kaaj. He splits on average 20 bamboos over eight hours to earn Rs. 250 every day. Mainuddin is one of many such bamboo workers, who are brought here by local contractors. Not much work is available now, he says, hardly half-a-year of work days.

The steady demand for split bamboos on the chars has declined because people living on the shifting islands now prefer innovative folding houses of tin, which are more durable and can be shifted easily during the frequent floods or when the char erodes and forces them to move.

In the past, the forest department purchased large quantities of specially woven bamboo fences to protect plantations in the state. Now the department uses iron or plastic fencing nets.  This too has contributed to the declining demand for split bamboos. 

The contractor makes the payments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the local market days. Mainuddin’s contractor, Radhakrishna Mandal (extreme right), purchases bamboos from Meghalaya for Rs. 10 per piece and engages Mainuddin and seven others to split them. 

Until around four years ago, Mandal supplied at least two truckloads of split bamboos every month to states like West Bengal and Bihar. Now, he says, he supplies only one truckload in two months. 

Four ferry ghats in Dhubri town connect over 350 chars – at all four, bamboo-splitting is a common activity and means of livelihood. At least seven contractors run their businesses at each ghat.