The Dhaka Times Desk Today, a Bangladeshi will be presented to you who has become the owner of 1200 buses from just one truck!
Over time, the transport sector in Bangladesh has developed under his hands. 1200 buses established by him are making bridges with different areas of the country. Zainal Abedin, the visionary of Hanif Enterprises, is a struggling and successful man in the transport sector.
It is surprising to know that he had only one truck at the beginning of his entry into this transport sector. He has become the 'Father of Coach Transportation' of the country through relentless work and hard work.
The people of the area call him Jaina Mahajan. Zainal Abedin was born and raised in Savar, very close to the capital Dhaka. He started traveling with only one truck. Later the coach business started. He established a transport service company called 'Hanif Enterprise'. Hanif founded this company named Hanif Enterprises in the name of his younger son. Then he didn't have to look back.
Zainal Abedin, a visionary, has also built petrol pumps, CNG stations, cold storage, bricks manufacturing, beverage and publishing businesses. Later, wherever you put your hand, it seems that gold!
Zainal Abedin's father Haji Md. Azim Uddin was elected as the Chairman of Aminbazar Union for two consecutive years unopposed. However, despite growing up in a political family, Zainal Abedin has always avoided politics from the beginning. Media never attracted him.
When Zainal Abedin was contacted, he politely informed that no interview or photograph can be taken. But he was somewhat flexible in reminding the interest of the readers. He continued to tell the unknown stories of those days of his success.
Zainal Abedin said, I was born in a noble Muslim business family in Hijla village of Aminbazar, Savar. I was the 5th among 5 brothers. While father was chairman of Union Parishad, he also did import and export business. In particular, he was a successful trader in paddy and leather.
My father was the first trader who started the import-export business by sea with Karachi, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Burma (now Myanmar) at that time. On that occasion, many dignitaries and politicians used to come to our house. At that time my elder brother Salahuddin was studying medicine.
I then got admission in Aminbazar Mirpur Mofid-e-Am Junior Madrasa. From there, my father admitted me to Mirpur Siddhant High School. At that time I was very restless. I was not interested in education. I used to walk here and there all day.
Meanwhile the father decided to marry the elder brother. He arranged his marriage with Mumtaz Begum, daughter of Haji Nurul Islam of Mirpur. But the elder brother did not agree to the marriage. So in the end I was placed on the marriage ladder. I will be only 14 years old then. Mumtaz Begum was only 12 years old.
I started business as I was not focused on studies. With my father's money, I started the paddy-rice business. At that time there was not so much transportation, even long-distance roads were very few. The main mode of transportation was by train, otherwise by sea.
In the paddy business, I used to go from Kamalapur by train to Santahar-Sekhan by bus to Naogaon-then to Mahadevpur-Sekhan on foot to a place called Mahishbathan.
The people there are surprised to see 3 thousand rupees to me! They thought so much money in the hands of such a young boy! Even thinking of me as a rice trader was considered foolish by many.
Suddenly there is a rice famine in East Pakistan. Rice is in short supply, the price is high. So I went to Jessore by plane to buy rice. Then the rent was only 27 taka. I was with Gomasta. At that time I alone bought twenty and a half maunds of rice. Now it's my turn to return.
Our boat loaded with rice through various ghats was floating in the Padma river very close to Munshiganj when the boat sank in a heavy storm. We saved our lives with the help of sailors on that journey. As far as I can remember, the 50 taka clutched in my hand in that accident was the last thing I got back home. After returning home, I left the business of paddy and rice.
Then 5 brothers of the family went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj together. This incident started a stir not only in the area, but also in Bharatvarsha. The then Lord praised this initiative and described our family as a traditional family. Since then, the name of our house in the area is Haji Bari. We reached Saudi port by ship from Kolkata port. From there I rode a camel to Makkah-Madinah.
After the country became independent, there was a call to restructure the country. Manik Mia Avenue, Sangsad Bhavan area was Boro Field then. In that field, I started the work of subcontracting the soil.
I bought a 3 ton petrol truck for only 14 thousand taka. That's where I started. Also hired some trucks. Later sold the truck and bought a 5 ton diesel truck from Bedford.
At the same time, I got a job in the construction of the Matamuhuri river dam in Feni. I also subcontracted there. The contractor gave me Tk 10 lakh in advance for the soil laying work. I bought two Hino coaches with that.
The journey started in the name of Hanif's younger son 'Hanif Enterprise'. First Dhaka-Bogra route. After the success of one, Hanif Enterprise's route continued to grow one by one. In this way, 1200 buses have been added to our fleet in the last four decades.
Zainal Abedin said as the reason for not coming into politics, maybe I would have gone further! Then he stopped his emotions and cautiously brought himself back to his words.
At present, Hanif Enterprises employs about 50,000 people. Zainal Abedin, the leader of this organization, has become a symbol of honesty, trustworthiness and reliability. Today many people also know his two sons. Here is his great joy. Source: www.deshebideshe.com
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