By Nazish Hussain, TwoCircles.net
“It is a complete lockdown for people like us only,” says Tamanna, working as domestic help in Ranchi. Mother of two, Tamanna is out of money for ration and feels bogged down without any financial assistance. She opines that even though a lockdown is in place, she sees shops open from where people who have money are buying and safely eating meals in their homes.
The central government had announced 21 days nationwide lockdown from March 23 to April 14, and owing to the rapid spread of infection, has been extended till May 3. While the lockdown has halted major economic activities, it is the informal sector that has been worst hit. As per a 2018 survey report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), informal sector in India employs 86.8 percent of workforce. In India, this substantial population of unorganized sector lives largely in Jharkhand which is one of the poorest states in the country. Most of them daily wagers, migrant laborers and domestic help are currently out of job due to economic shutdown, making it no rocket science to estimate that the poverty level will further escalate.
To ease the situation for such vulnerable, the State government has started providing two months ration to PDS ration card holders. According to one of the reports, 2.55 crore people in Jharkhand are presently covered under Public Distribution System (PDS).
“For many years I have been trying to obtain a ration card but I have not got it till now,” says Tamanna. She has been running pillar to post to obtain the card which would have now provided her food security along with many other benefits. Her husband, who is skilled for house painting, remains out of job for most of the time and Tamanna being the sole breadwinner, sustaining a family of four has not been easy for her. To share the economic burden of her family, she had initially been working in multiple jobs. But over the years, due to work overload and poor nutrition, she grew anemic and it became even more difficult for her to work as her health deteriorated. Loss of job and food insecurity due to pandemic has made it even worse for her.
“How will I cover the expenses of household?” worries Rasheeda Khatoon, a middle aged widow who is now out of job. Rasheeda worked as a cleaner at a private hospital in Ranchi. She has a family to look after and only to protect them from the threat of the virus she decided to leave her job at the hospital. She is now worried how will she feed her family. Thanks to voluntary charity workers, she has been receiving ration but she fears how long would that suffice for her. Rasheeda has no ration card and is also deprived of the widow pension.
Communication loopholes in dissemination of government aids
The State government had announced that for 8 lakh people whose applications were pending for ration cards, would be given 10 kg of rice. However, it seems the benefit has not reached everyone. “Some people were saying that rice is being distributed to non card holders whereas some denied,” says Tamanna who is a resident at ward number 4 of the Ranchi Municipal Corporation.
Rare mobility in the state under lockdown, it was hard for Tamanna to confirm the news and walking a long distance in the scorching sun to the ward councilor’s office was another problem. However, after considering the scant ration she was left with, she decided to walk. When she finally reached the office, she couldn’t meet the councilor. Tamanna says, “Some lady there told me that no help from the government has arrived yet.”
When TwoCircles.net reached Husna Ara, councilor of ward number 4, asking about people whose ration card application is still under process, she confirmed receiving government aid for distribution among the needy. She discussed that she had received rice meant for 120 people, along with an amount of Rs. 10,000 from the Municipal Corporation which she had already distributed. On being asked how many ration card applications had been submitted to her, she replied, “around 50-60”. She further claimed all such applicants have been provided with the aid.
Too late and too little
“For how long can I feed my family in Rs. 500?” wonders Tamanna. On March 26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, announced that as a measure to provide relief to poor women during lockdown, ex-gratia payment of Rs. 500 would be credited to the Jan Dhan accounts of women under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY).
Tamanna explains that had the government sent that money to her husband’s bank account, they could have managed something. She recalled having waited in a long queue under terrible heat to receive the amount from Jan Dhan Yojna after 20 days of the lockdown. After being out of job since lockdown, it is the only sum she has received.
“It is a meager amount to feed a family of four,” she says. She fears running out of this money and her only hope for now is reliance on the charity work voluntarily being done by individuals and different organizations.
Apprehensions over post-lockdown situation
“I took loan for my daughter’s wedding. Without income how will I repay?” worries Rasheeda. She has no more savings left and soon she would be out of ration that she received from charitable work of good Samaritans. Sharing the apprehensions over her job security she tells, the hospital has said the cleaners who have left now (during corona pandemic) will not be allowed to continue with the job post lockdown.
Most workers in the informal sector do not have a job guarantee. Illiterate and semi skilled workers often do not have means and access to social protection measures in India. According to government sources, around 5.5 lakh migrant workers are expected to return back to Jharkhand. Sensing the post lockdown crisis, Jharkhand government is gearing up to provide employment opportunities to the workers.
However, this doesn’t spell any relief for Tamanna, who is suffering from both the corona scare and the rampant Islamophobia in the country amid the pandemic. Talking about the job security of her husband who works mostly on interior home paint, she feels “People will be reluctant to let others, especially Muslims inside their homes even after the lockdown gets over.”