The intense heat has left everyone gasping, and load-shedding is adding to the misery. People are trying everything to find a little relief, yet there is no escape from the heat.

Amid this, a different scene can be found at Akul Hossain's fruit stall at Paglakanai crossing in Jhenaidah town. To give himself some relief from the heatwave, he has grown grass on the roof of his fruit stall. He spread a layer of soil on the polythene over the stall's roof and planted grass in it, which gives the shop a cool touch. As a result, the heat is far less intense at this fruit stall than at other shops.

Akul Hossain is the son of the late Abul Hossain of Korapara in Jhenaidah town. He lives with his mother, wife and two children in a semi-pucca house on three decimals of land. His only assets are his house and this fruit stall.

He started selling bananas on passenger buses when he was just 10 years old, and worked as a hawker on buses until 1996. He then bought a van and sold ripe bananas from it for 15 years. Since 2012, he has been selling fruit from a polythene shack he put up beside the road at Paglakanai crossing in Jhenaidah town.

One day he saw a video on YouTube showing how to keep a house cool by planting on its roof. Seeing it, he decided to cool his own small shop. Four years ago he spread soil on the polythene over the shop and planted a type of grass known as "Lakshmi grass". He waters it morning and evening. Now the grass sits on top of Akul Hossain's shop like a patch of green, and the shop stays quite cool.

Akul Hossain said that as well as sprinkling water morning and evening, he tends the grass regularly. This keeps the fruit in his shop in good condition and lets him sell in comfort.

His shop currently holds fruit worth Tk 80,000-90,000. He sells Tk 25,000-30,000 worth of fruit a day, earning Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200 a day.

Akul's friend Gulzar Hossain told Jagonews: "We can really do a lot with a little. My friend has set an example of that. He has shown how to do business well even in this heat."

A customer named Selim said: "I have seen the grass on this shop's roof for a long time. It has spread over the roof. The grass on the fruit stall's roof looks nice, and it gives the shop a cool atmosphere in this intense heat."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.