Daily Wagers, Labourers Worst Hit – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

 PROBLEMS IN LOCKDOWN

• Since Delhi announced a lockdown on Monday, followed by a nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, hundreds of migrant labourers have— in the absence of public transport and with borders sealed— decided to walk home to escape hunger, insecurity.
• “We have no income anymore. We would earn Rs 200-250 daily. Since the gradual shutting down of the city, work has come to a standstill. I was not earning but the landlord kept asking for rent,” he said. With no food, water or money, the group left. At Anand Vihar, they drank from a canal. “All shops are closed. We can’t even buy water if we want,”.

PROBLEMS IN LOCKDOWN

• There has been a mass exodus of labourers from the site ever since the government announced a lockdown, Several daily wagers live in shared rooms and pay rents to the tune of Rs 500 per month for these crowded accommodations.
• The Delhi government has started giving food to those in need at night shelters twice a day. While the number of people eating there has increased, those who left the city said they did not know about the option.
• Some men took loans of a few hundred rupees before heading East.

DELHI

• Day-time occupancy at shelters for the homeless has increased by 2.5 times in the past three days. With the capital under lockdown since Monday, the number of people staying in the shelters has gone up, with officials saying even at night, 1,000-1,500 people are staying there now.
• On Saturday, 2,805 people stayed at the shelter. This number rose to 6,846 on Monday, the day the lockdown came into force. The number of those staying the night increased from 7,200 to 8,700.

DELHI

• The Delhi government has been distributing food in several shelters over the past two days. It is also considering financial aid for those living in shelters.
• Labourers, rickshaw pullers, street vendors, sanitation workers and daily-wage labourers, who have been rendered vulnerable and bereft of income and food amid the lockdown, said they are unsure of what to do next. Factories and construction sites are closed, and interstate train and transport services are suspended at least until March 31.

 DELHI

• For the time being, night shelters run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) are proving to be cold comfort at an uncertain time.
• DUSIB member Bipin Rai told The Indian Express, “We have been providing lunch and dinner at 220 shelters since March 23. The people, even if they are not living in shelters, can choose from a simple menu of rice, pulses, vegetables, sometimes even khichdi.”

Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF

Sharing is caring!