Elderly farmer in Gaibandha loses entire life savings to rodent damage
Photo Collected
An elderly couple in Gaibandha’s Sundarganj Upazila has been left destitute after termites and rodents destroyed nearly 200,000 taka in cash they had stored in a wooden wardrobe. The discovery, which has since circulated widely on social media, occurred in Dhumaitari village of Dahobanda Union.
Tofazzal Hossain, 72, a marginalized farmer, and his 55-year-old wife, Fatema Khatun, found the savings shredded into pieces when they opened their cupboard on Friday afternoon. The cache consisted of 1,000 and 500 taka notes, representing years of manual labor and financial planning.
Hossain, who previously worked as a rickshaw puller in Dhaka, currently supports his household by sharecropping two bighas of land. The savings included earnings from his time as a rickshaw driver, funds set aside for household expenses, a 50,000 taka contribution from his son-in-law for a new latrine, and money raised through a land mortgage.
In a video documenting the aftermath, a distraught Khatun is seen weeping over the shredded currency spread across a mat, while a visibly shaken Hossain attempts to salvage the remnants. Hossain expressed his anguish over the loss, stating that the money was intended to provide for his wife and three married daughters in the future. He has appealed to the Prime Minister for assistance to recover from this devastating setback.
Local officials have confirmed the incident. Chobed Ali, a member of the Dahobanda Union Parishad, described the couple as vulnerable, noting that they had settled in the village after moving from a riverine area and possess almost no assets.
Rezaul Karim, the Chairman of the Dahobanda Union Parishad, confirmed that the currency is beyond repair. Local authorities are currently exploring ways to provide support to the couple, who now face severe financial hardship due to the loss of their life savings.
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