People prefer hometown with lesser income than returning to old jobs in other States
Returnees adapt to situation & earn instead of returning to pre-Covid jobs in other states
A few months back, lakhs of people returned to Uttarakhand after Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and a nation-wide lockdown was announced in March. However, many people did not return to their jobs in other districts and States even after the Central Government allowed resumption of commercial activities in the country. According to many people who returned to their families during the lockdown, they were stranded for weeks in other States waiting for their turn to get on trains to return to their hometown without enough money to buy food and they do not wish to have the same experience again as the situation is currently much worse than before. “I worked as a carpenter in Noida for the last five years but when the commercial activities were shut down during the lockdown, I was stuck in the place for about three months. Our boss did not even pay for our 20 days wages stating that he had to face loss and would pay after the situation would get better. Those were the worst days of my life. I and some of my colleagues were on the verge of starvation. Sometimes we did receive food packets from some NGOs two times a day but sometimes we had nothing. The process of returning to Haldwani was so long and difficult for me so when the government allowed resumption of the commercial activities, I decided not to go back to Noida,” said Dinesh Singh, a resident from Haldwani. He said that his mother and wife grow vegetables on a small piece of agricultural land and now he has started to help them too. Singh said that his wife works in a boutique too so he also takes care of his children and does household chores. He said that considering the current scenario, he does not wish to return to Noida anytime soon.
Digvijay Rawat, who worked as a field contractor in Ahmedabad also shared his experience stating that he returned to Dehradun in May but as condition has worsened since then he did not return to his job. He said, “My parents are old and they asked me not to go back during the pandemic. My father has a small shop which he had been running for decades but after he had a heart attack in June, I have been running the shop. My earnings are very less but returning to the old job while risking our life is not worth it. It is easier to survive in your own city with your family than in another city. I am thinking about starting a small business for which I have applied under Mukhyamantri Swarozgar Yojana (MSY) too.”
Meanwhile, many men who lost their jobs during the lockdown or did not return to their jobs in other States are bearing the responsibility of house husbands too. “I worked as a chef in a restaurant in Delhi but I had to return in May. My wife works in a publication house here and since the children are also at home these days, I take care of them. I teach them and do other household chores too. My wife earns pretty well to support the family so I decided not to return to Delhi in the uncertain times,” said Dehradun resident Manish Arora. Moreover, some people have also found ways to earn money in their homes. “I have started to buy masks and sanitisers in wholesale and started selling them at reasonable prices which earned me about Rs 5,000 profit last month. It is not much but earning something is better than being unemployed,” said Arvind Paliwal, a local resident. “I have started to teach English online to some students here which are paying me quite well,” said Ruchika Gupta, who was a teacher in a coaching institute in Delhi before the lockdown.
Saturday, 05 September 2020 | Purnima Bisht | Dehradun
