Carrying a can of grease, Chandrakant Rathod waits for trucks on the highway near Dhulkhed in Chadachan town, bordering Solapur in Maharashtra. He hopes that some truck will park here so that he can grease the wheel bearings and earn some money.
Till a few days ago, about 20 people here made their livelihood from such jobs, but with the arrival of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and trucks not stopping at check-posts any more, they have been left with no work. In fact, around 500 people who engaged in several small jobs around the two check-posts in Vijayapura have suddenly found themselves unemployed.
Speaking to The Hindu , R.N. Ramaiah, Deputy Commissioner of the Commercial Taxes Department, said the check-posts were registering the entry of around 3,500 goods vehicles every day, for verifying documents and imposing fine if they did not carry the required papers. This had given rise to many jobs — from photocopying outlets and small eateries to people doing minor repairs. “While I earned around ₹500 a day by topping up grease, others had set up photocopy shops, tea stalls and small eateries. We need to look for other work now,” said Srishail Pawar at the check-post.
Meanwhile, the 32 employees working in the two check-posts are yet to be given other assignments.
