TACKLING THE GROWING DESPAIR

The nationwide lockdown has left the urban poor jobless and on the verge of economic obliteration. How can their lives be brought back on track?

- KAUSHIK DEKA

Alpa Rani, a 40-year-old domestic help living in a 10x10 ft room in a south Delhi slum, looks baffled when asked if she, her husband and their two fully-grown sons are practising social distancing and hand hygiene in the face of the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. “We consider it a blessing if there’s enough water available to wash utensils. Washing hands with soap frequently is out of the question,” says Rani, whose dwelling abuts an open sewer running the length of the slum. It’s a cheek-by-jowl existence with neighbours, mostly migrants from Katihar in Bihar. Late afternoon, men and women escape their cramped spaces to take a nap on the roof, separated by a distance of not even 3 ft. Families share utensils, buckets and towels. They say neither municipal workers nor voluntary organisations have come to provide soap, sanitisers and masks or to disinfect the area.

“I know about the disease, but I have no idea what to do if I get it,” says Rani. Hygiene is her least concern right now. Since the nationwide lockdown kicked in on March 25, most men in the slum, including Rani’s husband, have lost their jobs as daily wagers, auto-rickshaw drivers and delivery boys at local shops. Some women continue to find work as cooks and house helps in nearby colonies, but they aren’t sure how long they can rely on even this meagre income if things don’t go back to ‘normal’ soon.