As the Capital slowly makes its way out of the lockdown, the first to restart their profession are the self-employed, for whom working from home was never an option. For them, sitting at home meant frustration and helplessness as there was little money inflow.
Even after resuming their livelihood, there life has been difficult and different.
For Ram Pal, a cobbler, the hurdles kept mounting as business has failed to take off. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district, he said: “I returned to my spot near the market a week ago, after people said that rules have been relaxed and people are stepping out. But life has remained the same. I have hardly earned anything in the last one week.”
He has a family of six to fend for and has no idea where to get the money from. “The landlord is also putting pressure on us to pay the rent. How do we explain that we do not have money to buy a proper meal? So how can we afford to pay the rent? I will watch for a couple more days and then start walking towards our village. There is no other option,” Pal said.
Unending wait
Yusuf John, a sketch artist, who had spent 20 years near the India Gate making portraits of people, sits on a footpath near Lady Shri Ram College with his drawing pad and box of pencils hoping that someone would stop by.
“I would make at least ₹1,000 a day and even more on weekends and winter. Since May 5, I have been sitting here but have made only two portraits. I can’t wait to go back to India Gate once it reopens,” John says.
He added that when the lockdown started, he was undergoing treatment at the Safdarjung Hospital but was discharged after the COVID-19 outbreak and has been living on the footpath since. “God has given me only one talent, which has fed me all my life. I am willing to work but getting customers is not easy,” says John.
While many sat at home and waited for the lockdown to be lifted, some like Mohammed Kasim, a carpenter, started selling vegetables. “I live in Kotla and with the help of my wife, we used to fill sacks with vegetables and sell them on a street in Lodi Colony. Nobody questioned us because we were selling essentials and the short trip to the main road helped us earn a profit,” said Kasim, who resumed his usual work at a housing project.
Biggest hindrance
Even with the government allowing certain trades, the lack of public transport has been a hindrance. Nilesh Kumar, a plumber, says he does not have a motorcycle and hence restricted to places he can reach on his cycle. “Since sanitary and hardware stores have opened, I have been standing outside these shops hoping that someone will buy something and will need help installing it. But most customers are plumbers themselves, who have come to buy fittings,” Nilesh says.
For several others working in government offices, who have been directed to start working out of their respective offices, the absence of public transport has put them in a spot.
A staffer working at the National Green Tribunal said: “We have been reporting for work since the first week of May on the basis of a roster. Usually we need to go every alternate day. But because I do not have a vehicle, my colleague takes a 10-kilometre detour every time, just to pick me up.”
The resident of Dwarka added: “We have no other option but to carpool. Fortunately, till now our duties were on the same day. I am not sure how I will reach court if our duties get assigned on separate days.”
