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Musician forced to pull rickshaw gets job at Shwapno

Abdullah hailed Punam’s rickshaw one day and came to know about his heartbreaking story in conversation


All was going well for Ehsanur Rashid Punam—an office worker and musician from Bogra—until he lost his job and all his savings after an accident. His life was turned upside down and he was forced to work as a rickshaw puller to make ends meet.

However, things are now looking up for the musician as he was given a job by Shwapno, the largest retail chain in the country, after his struggles were brought to everyone’s attention by online news portal NewsG24 video crew member Rummon Abdullah.

Abdullah hailed Punam’s rickshaw one day and came to know about his heartbreaking story in conversation.

Punam was very busy with music post 2000. He also completed his graduation during this time and was associated with a band named Salvation, which won the best band award in a contest called Star Search. He was also performing well at his job in Dhaka, where he was working as the administrative officer at a garments company.

One day, he was hit by a car when he was on his way home. Punam survived the accident but it took away all that he had—his assets and savings were used up for his treatment.

He also lost his job and was then forced to work as a rickshaw puller. His suffering was only aggravated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, after his employment at Shwapno, Punam has a new lease on life.

He got the job after Shwapno Executive Director Sabbir Hasan Nasir came across the news of Punam's misfortune.

The retail chain management contacted Punam soon and invited him to come to their office on Friday.

On the same day, he was handed an appointment letter by Shwapno's Head of Human Resources (HR) Department Shah Md Rijvi Rony and Media and Public Relations (PR) Manager Kamruzzaman Milu, after having a virtual meeting with its Operations Director Abu Naser.  

He was appointed as inventory and cash management officer of the company.

Nasir said: "After watching his video we thought it would feel better if something could be done for him. We tried our best to stand beside him from our sense of social responsibility. Now we feel good that we have done this for him."

After getting employed, Punam said: "I never thought that I would get a job during this stressed time. The respect that Shwapno has shown towards me, I will try to protect that with utmost honesty. I want to do well in my new post and perform my duties well. Now it is my responsibility to protect the honour they showed."