At Chaya’s home, weekends were synonymous with non-vegetarian fare. It was a ritual of sorts for the 24-year-old’s father, Subodh, to go out and buy meat on Sundays. But all that changed a year ago. The family of four residing in Balanagar, Hyderabad, skip it as much as possible — to save money. They are mindful of how they spend every penny, and are focussed on repaying the loans that they took for Subodh’s COVID-19 treatment in May last year.
Subodh has recovered, but the family continues to battle the financial impact of the pandemic second wave. They had taken a loan of ₹5 lakh, of which ₹3 lakh is yet to be repaid. Not just that, they had mortgaged gold too.
Chaya earns ₹16,500 a month as a beautician while her 27-year-old brother makes ₹22,000. They set aside 50% and 60% of their salaries, respectively, to settle the outstanding loans. What’s more, they try not to take leave, lest there is a deduction in salary.
“Regardless of how much I get, I keep aside ₹8,000,” says Ms. Chaya, sounding determined to repay the loans as early as possible.
“My father was admitted to a private hospital, which charged us ₹80,000 a day. We mortgaged our mother’s gold ornaments to cover the treatment expenses. When we ran out of money, we were forced to take loans. Our first task is to repay the people who extended financial help during tough times,” adds Ms. Chaya.
The economic distress brought by the pandemic has had a long-lasting impact on hundreds of families. Astonishing charges at corporate hospitals for coronavirus treatment, post-COVID complications such as Mucromycosis and long-COVID burned deep holes in their pockets.
With a meagre monthly salary of ₹4,000, S. Anusha has the mountainous task of repaying a debt of ₹1.70 lakh. The 24-year-old had taken a high-interest loan of ₹2 lakh for the treatment of her late husband, S. Rakesh, who was infected with COVID treatment last May. He was admitted to a private hospital in Karimnagar which charged ₹1 lakh a day! After two days of treatment there, Rakesh was shifted to the State-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Warangal, but soon passed away.
Following his death, Ms. Anusha did not even have time to process her loss. Left all alone to take care of their two sons, aged six and seven years old, she sought assistance of a COVID volunteer to approach government officials and elected representatives to find a job with decent pay. But help did not come from any corner. Finally, she landed a job at a ladies emporium.
This month will mark Rakesh’s first death anniversary. Besides the trauma of losing her husband, the young widow is grappling with her finances. Her parents help her out with money at times, but she keeps her purse strings tightened to be able to clear the loans.
Her only solace is a two-room home that she owns, but she might not be able to hold on the property for too long. “So far, I have managed to clear ₹30,000 debt. I am planning to clear the remaining ₹1.70 lakh by selling my home. What can I do? I don’t have any other option,” says Ms Anusha.
(Some names have been changed to protect identity)
