Gurugram: Construction ban leaves daily wagers without an income

GURUGRAM: A blanket ban on construction activities in view of the high pollution levels has left daily wagers without a source of income. Several workers who were already in debt say they have been forced to borrow further from money lenders or shops.

“It’s been days since I earned a single penny. If it continues like this for another week, we’ll die of hunger rather than pollution,” says Pran Singh (37), who is originally from UP’s Mahoba district.

A mason by profession, Singh has failed to find employment for four straight days. He used to earn Rs 500 a day, but now he’s ready to work for half the amount. At the Sector 5 intersection, he walks up to car and tries to offer different services to its owner, only to return disappointed.

Areas like Sector 5, Bhuteshwar Chowk, Sikanderpur and Udyog Vihar have been unusually chaotic for the past few days. From masons to plumbers and painters to unskilled workers, hundreds of people have flocked to these places in search of work as early as 8 am. While they would usually get work by 10-11am, these days they are forced to return home without a job. At an intersection near Sikanderpur metro station, a visibly worried Rani Devi (32) says she doesn’t know whether she and her husband would be able to arrange enough money to buy edible oil and some flour. “For the past few days, we have been surviving on the credit that the local shop had given us. But now even he has refused to give ration until we settle our dues. If we don’t find a job, we might have to sleep on an empty stomach today,” she says. Some workers demanded that the ban be lifted and termed it “irrational”. “Cars emit toxic pollutants but they don’t face any action. Why is there a ban on only works or jobs that feed us? We aren’t even taken in consideration when such steps are taken,” says 27-year-old Bharat Kumar, who returned from his village in Jhansi in April after the second wave. Unions, meanwhile, have demanded immediate relief for the workers. While a section has supported the National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour that has moved the SC against the order and sought exgratia for workers, others find it too time-consuming and want an “instant solution”.

“We will write to the government asking it to review the order. It’s deeply saddening that the government knows that such bans deprive the poor of their livelihoods, yet doesn’t consider their plight efore taking such steps. These decisions are whimsical and authoritarian and they ignore the democratic process of involving all stakeholders and addressing their concerns,” said Satbir Singh, a member of Centre of Indian Trade Unions.