Chittagong, Bangladesh- June 2012. Two roaming boys of Chittagong Railway Station were playing in the smoke created from burnt straws during winter. [L]ike any other railway stations of Bangladesh, Chittagong Railway Station is not only a place for stopping & starting trains but also a shelter for a homeless people, marketplace for hawkers and even for some peoples a place for taking drugs and crime. This rail station is country’s second busiest railway station as Chittagong is the second largest city of the country and also the most important commercial hub. In this busy station some people find their shelter and livelihood. Here people sleep near the railway line, even in the busy platform of the station. Some people has built slum around the rail line as their shelter. But people living in the station and around the station lead a miserable life. Most of them don’t know what to eat during next day, what to wear during cold season as they are living under the poverty line.
In this ongoing project I tried to portray the life that these people lead. I tried to focus on the roaming people around the station, most of them have no home, most of the roaming children have no parents or their parents do not take care of them and these children lead a very reckless childhood. These children are getting addicted to lethal drugs and within a very early stage of life get involved in crimes to manage money for drugs. Many drug dealers even use these children for trafficking drugs as well.
Beside these people the working people of the station have struggling life. Many railway workers, laborer do not have a better working condition. My project has covered them as well them as well.
Chittagong, Bangladesh- January 2013. Many homeless people basically roam railway station to station for begging and other means of livelihood. They travel on the train without tickets. It was just before the departure of the train these people gathered on the train for moving to another station.Chittagong, Bangladesh- December 2012. In Bangladesh it is prohibited to smoke cigarettes in public places like railway stations. But a man was having smoke in the busy platform of the station.Chittagong, Bangladesh- August 2012. A disable boy at Chittagong rail station. He leads his life by begging there.Chittagong, Bangladesh- October 2012. A railway worker was burning down garbage of the station during the clean up period of the station. This could be harmful for the workers and also pollutes environment.Chittagong, Bangladesh- January 2012. These boys were taking Marijuana at the station premises. Some drug dealers also use them for trafficking drug and these boys work for the dealers to manage money for their addiction.Chittagong, Bangladesh- June 2012. A homeless girl in a scrap rail bogie. She lives in this bogie with her family.Chittagong, Bangladesh- April 2012. A family living in the temporary slum near the station. Here the old man was passing time with his grandchildren. He could not educate his sons properly because of poverty but he dreams to educate his grandchildrenChittagong, Bangladesh- March 2013. A waiting passenger of a late train was reading newspaper to pass his time.Chittagong, Bangladesh- August 2013. A mentally disable man was confined in chains in the station premises. Local people chained him because of his activities in the station.Chittagong, Bangladesh- January 2013. It was very cold weather. A homeless man in the platform covered almost his whole body, except his feet with a torn piece of cloth.
Kazi Riasat Alve, 1990, is a Bangladesh based photographer, at first he majored in Marketing and communication studies but he always had a vision… More »
stunning !