VIJAYAWADA: Survivors are not always skilled or hardworking. Sometimes they are the smartest, but most of the times they are the luckiest. At least that is what Bellamkonda Appa Rao--a 45-year-old construction worker who migrated to Vijayawada from Palwancha in Telangana--strongly believes in. "Otherwise, why would a lot of us remain without work despite being as hardworking and skilled as others? In order for us to survive, luck plays a pivotal role," he says. By 'us', he means thousands of others construction workers, who wait at the busiest junctions in the city to be picked up by contractors. Survival to men like him mean finding a day's work.
Armed with strong determination and a lot of hope, thousands of men and women swarm areas like Benz Circle, Kaleswararao market junction, Eluru Lakuku, Ramavarappadu Circle and Kanaka Durga Varadhi in Vijayawada--some with packed lunches and others with bags containing construction tools. Their only agenda for the day: survive. Especially post state bifurcation, these junctions have turned into body shopping zones.
"We come and stand here (at Benz Circle) at 6am every day and wait for someone to pick us up for work. Mostly, it will be related to construction," Appa Rao pauses, and runs towards a man--wearing a white khadi shirt--reaches the junction on his motorcycle at 7am on Sunday.
"He is a contractor," a dejected Appa Rao says some moments later. "He offered only a four-hour work for which we get paid in peanuts. And we don't usually go with contractors because though they charge more money from their client, they give us only minimum wages," he complains.
"Sometimes, they don't even pay for our auto-rickshaw fare," V Venkata Rao, another migrant worker from Ravulapalem of East Godavari district, interjects. "We earn Rs 300-Rs500 per day depending on the work," he adds.
As the clock struck 8am, Venkat Rao shares the difficulties of being a daily wager. "While our lives hang in uncertainty, there is a tough competition from 'Hindiollu' (Hindi-speaking workers). Big companies only hire those from Bihar, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and other states for cheap labour," he explains. "Look there," he points at the Benz Circle flyover work. "We could have been hired, instead of the Hindiollu. We do the same amount of work as they do. But, why are we not hired?" An hour later, he got picked up for a domestic work at an apartment for a wage of Rs400.
The junction at Kaleswararao market too witnesses similar stories everyday. "It is not that there is no work. We are treated poorly. So, most of the workers are choosy over what work they want to take up. The amount of money also matters as most of the contractors try to get us for as cheap as possible," S Venkateswarlu, an unofficial leader of the crowd that waits at the junction in One Town, says.
Most of the migrant labourers believe that luck is what it takes to survive. "We don't know who or when we will be hired. We just wait here till 12 noon hoping we would be offered some work. It is all luck," T Narsayamma, a localite from Yanamalakuduru, observes. It was a 'lucky' day for Narsayamma and her husband, T Appala Naidu, as the duo got picked up by a contractor for 'cement work' -- meaning lifting cement bags -- within 30 minutes of their arrival at Benz Circle.
Not everyone gets lucky though. S Tirupataiah, a 56-year-old man from Prakasam district, who arrived only few weeks ago, waited till 12.30 pm, and started walking towards Sai Baba temple, about 600 metres from Benz Circle. "The temple offers free meals. So, whenever I don't find work, I come here," he says. "So, I don't have any work today. Now, I will have to sleep with a hope that I find some work tomorrow."