Cab driver finds it difficult to sustain family of five ‘Clampdown is nothing short of a ‘calamity’ for me’ It is a bad idea to leave city now: restaurant worker ‘We are borrowing money to manage a meal a day’

30/03/2020

Aruna Mandal,

At-home parlour service provider

With the country going into a lockdown to control the pandemic, city-dwellers, who depend on a daily source of income, are among the worst hit.

For Govindpuri resident Aruna Mandal (31), a beautician offering at-home parlour services, a three week clampdown was nothing short of a “calamity.”

The sole breadwinner of the family, Mandal said: “It has been a week since I stopped visiting my clients’ houses. For people like me, how can there be any work from home? Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the other day that the lockdown will be for 21 days and some are saying that it might get extended. The entire situation is very distressing. What do I do?”

The 31-year-old added: “I came to Delhi after my marriage and then I took up a beautician course so that I could earn myself and not depend on anyone. My husband has erratic work and so the income is not regular. I even took a loan and bought a flat recently and had plans to shift by April. Now all the plans are gone. The moneylenders are asking for their money back. I have no idea how I will arrange for the money if I am out of work for three weeks.”

Even though the income was “not fixed, it was at least regular and assured,” she rued.

“Usually, my days would start around 8 a.m. and I would come back home around 10 p.m. While there were days when I would earn around ₹3,000, at times it was only ₹1,000. At least there was a flow of income to the family. Now we are at a loss with no clue as to how to go forward,” the mother of a 12-year-old said.

Shinjini Ghosh

Mohammad Ahmed,

Driver with a cab-service provider

Apart from posing serious health threats, the COVID-19 outbreak also had adverse financial effects, specially after countrywide restrictions were announced.

Mohammad Ahmed, who is a driver with a leading cab service provider, now spends his days staring out of his balcony, in a bid to assess the financial impact caused in his life.

“Since the Prime Minister’s announcement, business is completely down and income zilch. The cab services have been discontinued till further orders. So at this point, we have no clarity on when it will be resumed and more importantly [we] have no idea how we will survive for the next three weeks,” said Ahmed.

With three children, Ahmed has a family of five to sustain.

“As of now we have bought basic grains and pulses. There is not really much that we can stock up. Where is the money for that?” he asked.

While adding that monthly instalments against loans he had taken are due, the 35-year-old said, “The worry of how to sustain is making me so anxious. I still have EMIs to pay for the loan I took to buy the car. The only thing happening these days is the steady depletion of the bank accounts. Even from the company we have not heard a word on whether we will get any compensation for this period.”

“I started driving the cab three years ago. Earlier I used to work in the construction industry. Currently, it simply looks like hassles are about to increase with no solution in the near future. We can’t step out; there is no way to earn anything and a constant threat to the health. Our miseries are simply unending it seems,” he said.

Shinjini Ghosh

Ramesh Kumar,

Runs tyre repair shop

Fifty seven-year-old Ramesh Kumar has been without work since the people’s curfew on March 22. “I only had ₹1,000 with me when the restrictions were announced...how am I supposed to get anything done with that?” asked Kumar, who lives with two children and his brother’s family.

With alcohol stores shut, Kumar, who runs a tyre repair shop near the Nehru Enclave metro station, said that he is saving some money. But ensuring that food and ration are available is a task. “We are making do with whatever we can, borrowing money from people here and there to eat a meal in a day,” he said, sitting outside his closed shop, along with a few others who has stores nearby.

Stating that no help in any form was received from authorities, Kumar said, “No one came to ask even about water.” Without a source of income he is not sure how long his family would be able to survive. But he wasn’t too concerned about the spread of the pandemic. “When I sleep at night, I hope I don’t wake up in the morning...I have lived a full life. I have seen a lot, done a lot...I never thought I would see such a time as well. But if it gets me, that’s also okay,” he said.

“I have been trying to spend time in some way or the other like feeding the birds and watching the television,” said Kumar who had also managed to procure cigarettes despite the lockdown. “We make some arrangements for this,” he said.

Sitting on the porch of his store, he said: “Day and night we see people walking with bags asking for directions to the bus terminal...it is really sad.” Kumar believes that more time should have been given to prepare for the lockdown.

Sidharth Ravi

Ram Pal,

Worker at a restaurant

Nineteen-year-old Ram Pal from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh has decided to stay put in Delhi at least for the time being. The owner of the restaurant he works at has suspended wages but is providing food to the workers.

“It [providing food] is better than nothing...what pay will we get when we are not working at all?” he said.

Many of his friends had left the city out of fear. Also, they were out of work and running out of money. But Ram thinks that it is a bad idea to leave the Capital. “Some people who left yesterday [Saturday] and that too on some expensive bus tickets have only reached Lucknow till now...that’s only half way home,” he explained. Besides this, the task of getting to Anand Vihar bus station itself is difficult, he said.

“They are all now in the middle of nowhere without food or water..at least here there is a roof over our heads and some food,” he said. “Now there is another friend who says he wants to go home but we are telling him to stay put,” he added.

Besides this, Ram is also concerned about transmitting the virus to the people in his village. “What if I take it [virus] to my village and give it to people there...if I fall sick here at least I can stay in the room, there might be some facility,” he added.

While he doesn’t mind staying on for a little while, he isn’t sure how long he would be able to sustain.” If this is just for twenty days or may be a month, I can stay on for sure...but if it goes beyond that I will have to leave,” he said, insisting that he had to be with his family who are already quite tensed.

“I don’t want to stay in Delhi for too long anyway,” said Ram, who was collecting money to eventually return home and fix up his house. However, he believes that the restaurant will start functioning soon.

Sidharth Ravi