BHUBANESWAR: As India battles coronavirus pandemic, the marginalized sections are struggling for survival. Fifty-four-year-old Baba Swain of Peer Bazaar in Jagatpur areas of Cuttack has a five-member family and is struggling to earn his livelihood after the lockdown was imposed in the country.
At Manguli Chowk, he assists the truck drivers coming from other states with the right direction.
“I assist the drivers reach their destinations at various places in Odisha and they give me money for it. However, after 48-hour shutdown was imposed, there was hardly any movement of goods vehicles, apart from those carrying essential commodities,” said Swain.
Swain did not have any work but he and his family lit earthen lamps at their rented accommodation on Sunday in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to collectively fight the darkness of COVID-19 by switching off the lights for nine minutes.
On Monday night, driver of a truck bearing Haryana registration asked him to help reach Mahtab Road in Cuttack. Swain loaded his bicycle in the vehicle and accompanied him. The driver, in return, gave Swain `300 and he returned home on his bicycle at about 12.30 am on Tuesday.He receives rice as he has a ration card and LPG cylinder under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana but he does not have money to buy vegetables and cooking oil.
“I have two sons and two daughters. My 21-year-old son is the eldest and 17-year-old daughter is the youngest,” said Swain.Two of them work with private firms but after lockdown, they are at home and are hardly left with any money.