Daily wagers on brink of starvation in Haryana

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, May 31

Carrying his lunch box, Charan Singh of Kutubpur village cycles to city’s Fountain Chowk every morning. A daily wager, he has been doing so for the past five years. “These are harsh times. I have been without work for two months now. Nobody is hiring us (labourers) any more. We are on the brink of starvation,” he says.

“What weighs on our minds is not the fear of Covid-19, but the loss of livelihood. I am unable to feed my family. I have no money,” he adds. Just then a car halts. Charan Singh and others rush towards it. Except two, the others return disappointed.

At least 150 daily wagers gather at the chowk every day in the hope that someone will hire them. Most return home, empty-handed. For 12 years, Jabbar Singh of Chitta Mandir area of Yamunanagar earned a living assisting masons. Now he is without work and has no money to buy ration for his family.

The plight of Gaurav of Tirth Nagar is worse. Surviving on a single meal, he arrives for work without a lunch box. “The workers are happy even if they are hired for half a day. Those failing to find work leave at 2 pm. Most of us skip lunch,” he says.