SAMBALPUR: It’s been a few days since the lockdown came into force but daily wagers and homeless people are already feeling the pinch as the drastic move has put them out of work.
Most of the daily wagers in Sambalpur have come from within the district, neighbouring areas and adjoining states.
They have been staying in the city for a long time and earning a living from petty jobs. However, lockdown has robbed them of their livelihood.
Sixty-year-old rickshaw puller Nadialu Das came to Sambalpur from Titlagarh after his son threw him out of the house a few years back.
Without a house of his own, he now spends nights at the porch of shops near railway station and eats at the local Aahar centre.
“I managed to earn Rs 70 to Rs 100 in a day and pay Rs 25 towards the rickshaw rent. Due to the lockdown, I have not been able to earn anything in the last four days,” said Das.
Since then, he has been surviving on puffed and flattened rice. Das is more afraid of his future than the virus as trains have been cancelled and there will be no passengers to hire his rickshaw.
Another daily wager Rajkumar Ram (57) has been working as a mason here since the last more than 10 years.
He sends a major share of his earnings to his seven-member family in Bihar every week. As all construction activities have been stopped due to the restrictions, he has not been able to get any work.
He said, “I eat from the money I earn every day. The contractor has refused any advance and as I am also not eligible for Government schemes, I don’t know how long can I survive without money or food.”
Apart from the daily wagers, there are many homeless persons who have been left in the lurch. These people are mostly found in groups at railway stations, bus stand, Samleswari Temple, Zilla school and other places. With all the establishments shut down, many are spending nights under open sky along roadsides or in front of closed shops.
As per the survey conducted by Sambalpur Municipal Corporation in 2014, there were 602 homeless persons in the city.
But there has been a manifold rise in their number in the last six years. The crisis has cast a cloud on the fate of these people.