HANAMKONDA: With campaigning for the Assembly elections ending, the daily-wage labourers are now back at their ‘addas’, waiting for work to sustain their livelihoods. For nearly a month, these labourers were in demand, hired by political parties to participate in various election-related activities, ranging from door-to-door campaigning to attending public meetings.
Political parties had been offering them between Rs 700 and Rs 1,000 per day, as well as food. Vehicles were arranged to transport them to different Assembly constituencies for campaigning. M Saroja, a daily wage labourer from Kasibugga, said: “During the election period, persons from various political parties used to come and hire us. We were paid Rs 500 per day for door-to-door campaigning and `1,000 for attending public meetings. They even provided us with food. However, now that the campaigning has ended, we are struggling to find work.”
T Chandramma, another labourer waiting for work at the Public Garden in Hanamkonda said: “Working on daily-wages is tough, as there are days when we don’t find any work. Moreover, those who hire us offer low wages, around Rs 400 per day. It’s disheartening that political parties remember us only during election time, and once the elections are over, they seem to forget about the issues faced by daily-wage labourers.”