Life is in intense pressure due to heat. Doctors advise children, elderly and pregnant women to stay at home to avoid health risks. The government has announced the closure of educational institutions to protect the health of students. How are the street children in such a situation?
The temperature has touched 40 degrees Celsius in different parts of the country including the capital Dhaka. In this situation, everyone is staying at home or in a shaded place, but Shanta is selling flowers on the street because of her hunger. Her face has turned purple from the heat of the sun.
Talk to Shanta, she said, she has no parents. So she is selling flowers on the street because of her thirst for food. She also said that she earns Tk. 200-300 by selling flowers all day long. It never happens. The life of the road is going on with starvation and half-starvation.
Nine-year-old Shaheen is selling water to soothe people tired in the heat. He said, the heat has exhausted them. But gets very thirsty. I don't get water everywhere. I drink water if I get a filter on the street.
Poverty and life struggle did not give these children a chance to think about heat. After all, survival is the most important thing for them.
Roni is selling water. Roni is standing at the Banglamotor signal with cold water on his head to relieve the people on the road in the intense heat. Intolerable heat was our own responsibility. There, this child came out at the urging of the stomach, ignoring the temperature of 40 degrees Celsius.
Sisters Sadia and Dalia bought flowers from Agargaon and sold them in Chandrima Udyan, Sangsad Bhavan area. The father said that he does not see them. The sick mother weaves garlands, and the two sisters go around in the sun selling the garlands.
Sadia said, it is very difficult in summer. Little sister can't walk. So she has to walk with her lap. Sadia said that while selling flowers on Sunday, a person fell dizzy.
According to UNICEF, there are about 10 lakh street children in Bangladesh. A big chunk share of them live in the capital, Dhaka. As there is no family, these children are passing their lives at extra risk in the intense heat. Street children are traveling with risks like diarrhea, lack of water, typhoid, respiratory problems, cold fever and heatstroke.
Public health experts said, children's illness is very normal in this summer. In this climate, children lose water and salt from their bodies, causing electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. There is also a possibility of heat stroke due to this. For this, children should drink a lot of water. If the water is unsafe, children may suffer from stomach problems such as diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.