Day Labourer Babul Sheikh Builds 11 Passenger Sheds on Three Roads in Kapasia, Gazipur, with His Own Earnings

Babul Sheikh, a day labourer in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur, has built 11 passenger sheds with his own money along three roads, spread over four to five kilometres. The man, who is over fifty, lives in Barosit village of Chandpur Union in the upazila.

He decided to do the work two years ago after seeing a mother at Patla Mor on the Kapasia-Joydebpur road sheltering her baby in her lap in the rain while waiting for a bus. The mother, holding her child in one hand and a heavy bag in the other, had no shelter beside the road.

One afternoon in December 2024, Babul Sheikh went to Patla Mor with bamboo, wood, matting and polythene and built the first passenger shed there. A month and a half later he built another shed on the opposite side of the road at the same place, along with a toilet.

He then built four more sheds in 2025 and the remaining five at different times this year. In total he has built eight sheds on the Kapasia-Joydebpur road, one on the Kapasia-Kaliganj road and two on the Patla-Barosit road. Babul Sheikh described this sequence to Prothom Alo on 3 November.

The sheds are made of bamboo, wood, matting and thick polythene. Some are seven feet long and five feet wide, others five feet long and four feet wide. Some have a single bench, while others have four to five benches.

Babul Sheikh said a small shed cost between 1,500 and 2,000 taka and a large one between 3,000 and 5,000 taka. Building the toilet, including a ring slab, pan and tin, cost 13,500 taka. He did all the work himself without hiring any labourer.

He also maintains the sheds himself. As the toilet has no water supply, he fills bottles with water every day and cleans the toilet himself when it gets dirty after use. He has also faced unkind comments for this work. In his words, 'Many people say I am doing something mad. I do not pay attention to what they say.'

Bedon Mia, a passenger waiting for a bus at the first shed at Patla Mor on 3 November, said the seating beside the road has greatly helped passengers, as standing in the sun would have been very hard. Md Riad, a resident of Barosit village, said the toilet has helped passers-by.

Ubaydullah Akon, a resident of Patla village, said Babul Sheikh also sometimes clears the bushes beside various village roads, that he is a simple man and never gets into an argument with anyone. Of the three roads where the sheds were built, one is under the Roads and Highways Department and the other two are under the Local Government Engineering Department.

LGED's Kapasia upazila engineer Md Sohel Rana and Kapasia Upazila Nirbahi Officer Hafizul Haque described the initiative as commendable. After hearing about it on Thursday, both said they would contact Babul Sheikh.

Babul Sheikh owns little besides his homestead. Alongside day labour, he runs a small poultry farm at home. He has a daughter and two sons; his daughter is married, his younger son studies at a madrasa, and he sent his elder son abroad seven months ago with money borrowed from relatives. Asked why he does this work, his answer was, 'If even a small task helps people, that makes me happy.'

His wife Salma Khatun said she once thought her husband's work was madness. Now, seeing that it helps people and that people speak well of it, she feels good about it herself.