A Tk 25–30k dinghy rents for Tk 120 a day; one local owner has 40
On the Buriganga, dinghy owners rent boats to boatmen for Tk 120 a day, Tk 3,600 a month per boat, but ownership is held by the locally powerful and boatmen also pay ghat levies.
On the Buriganga in Dhaka, passengers cross by dinghy from 44 points at 15 ghats. Most boatmen do not own a boat; they rent an owner's boat on a daily contract. In a Prothom Alo report, a boatman who has rowed for more than three decades said he earns Tk 700 to 800 a day, of which the boat rent is Tk 120 a day. On top of that, if he picks up passengers from the ghat he has to pay Tk 50 to 150 a day in extortion money and Tk 15 for guarding the boat. By the boatmen's reckoning, a boat costing Tk 25,000 to 30,000 earns Tk 120 a day, or Tk 3,600 a month — so for the owner it is profitable. That is why the locally powerful keep hold of ownership; one local leader alone has 40 boats. A boatman who has rowed other people's boats since 1998 said that even if boatmen have money, they cannot buy a boat — putting one on the water takes influence, otherwise the boat gets stolen. A leaseholder of a ghat said that because he made a loss the previous year, he has raised the toll this time. The boat-rental business needs little investment and the income is regular; but who controls the ghat is what decides who gets to keep this income.
Lessons
- 1.At a daily rent, a Tk 25–30k boat can earn back its price in roughly eight months, but first secure the right to launch at the ghat and keep the boat safe.
- 2.Ghat leases and levies eat a large share of earnings; count them as costs when you set the rent.
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