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In Delhi’s Industrial Areas, Paltry Savings of Workers Dry Up in Lockdown -Ronak Chhabra

-Leaflet.in

Workers and activists claim that the situation on ground remains grim while AAP’s welfare announcements are marked with delay and laxity in implementation.

Amidst a citywide lockdown that is now in its fifth week with a positivity rate that has come down to its lowest – less than 5% – in the last 45 days in Delhi, desperation is growing now in several of the national capital’s industrial areas and pushing workers further to hunger and destitution.

With no work and their paltry savings drying up, the phrase that was all too common for the workers during last year’s nationwide shutdown, can be heard one again: “Corona se nahi marenge, pehle bhuk se hi mar jayaenge.”

Residing in South Delhi’s Shahpur Jat locality, 31-year-old Kinker Haldar told a similar thing to Newsclick over the phone on Saturday. “I have not earned a single penny since over a month and will run out of whatever savings I had in the next 2-3 days. I have no idea what to do after that,” Haldar, the sole earner in a family of four (wife, two children), said.

Miles away in Metro Vihar, a remote corner tucked in Delhi’s North West district, similar concerns have gripped Prakash Kumar, a small time salesman. Metro Vihar mainly houses workers employed in factories located in nearby Narela and Bawana,

“I had received April’s wages only for the days that I worked. It goes without saying that I would not receive anything for the month of May. Now if this is how it continues, how will my family – a wife and three children – manage?” Kumar asked. The 48-year-old was employed as a plastic kitchenware salesman in a private shop before the lockdown was imposed on April 19 by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

The restrictions on public movement were imposed in the face of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases that brought the healthcare facilities in the national capital on the brink of a collapse.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led government, in an order dated April 20, said that a committee of officers will be constituted to ensure welfare of daily wagers and migrant workers. Subsequently, in the first week of May, the Chief Minister announced free food supplies for all ration card holders for the next two months and a one-time financial aid for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers. Similarly, construction workers registered with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (DBOCWWB) were to receive Rs. 5000 each as ex-gratia.

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