BENGALURU: Construction labourers, street vendors, cab drivers and other workers in the unorganised sector are suffering during the lockdown, as they need to go out for work to earn their daily bread.
“BBMP evicted 70 per cent of street vendors, including those selling food, fruits and vegetables. They are only allowing those selling petty items and clothes. In a meeting with the Joint Commissioner, West Zone, we requested that gloves, sanitisers be distributed, and awareness of hygiene be raised. We requested them not to evict us, but none of our demands were met,” said Uday Kumar, Bengaluru president of Karnataka Rajya Rashte Badhi Vyaparigala Mahamandala.
“Many street vendors come from villages to earn a livelihood here,” Kumar added. Construction workers who depend on daily and weekly wages, are finding it difficult to put food on their plates. With big companies halting projects, labourers don’t have any work.
“Without wages for 10 to 15 days, they are struggling to get a proper meal,” said Hemanth Kumar, founder of Migrant Construction Workers Association, Bengaluru, adding, “Their kids used to get one meal a day at school, but with schools shut, they do not even get that.”