Rohtak: A Haryana man has been forced to sell vegetables to sustain his livelihood after losing his job amid COVID-19.
Rinku, who was a plant head in a private company earning Rs 40,000 per month, said, "I was forced to sell vegetables to maintain the economic condition of our family."
"Private sector is in distress, there is no work. My friends are also selling vegetables as there are very few options. I have to do this in order to earn living for my family," Rinku said, adding that there is a huge employment crisis in the market forcing many people to take up odd jobs to make ends meet.
Rinku is also accompanied by his brother and other family members who help him with selling vegetables amid lockdown. Rinku is proud that he is able to survive a tough situation without sticking to 'false prestige'.
Since the beginning of coronavirus-triggered lockdown in March, a large number of businesses have been hit forcing people to take small jobs to earn a living.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Rinku said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of. It was a question of survival. I did not even have to think about how we would see ourselves through a crisis. I wake up every day at 4 am, go to the market to buy veggies and sells them spending 12 hours on my cart."
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Asked about what investment he made, the young man said, "I had to take a loan to buy a bike- driven vegetable cart. I have also installed loudspeakers on my cart because I go from street to street to sell vegetables. I am glad that my family members are extending support to me and helping me in every possible manner.
"Around 70 to 80 employees were working in my company but due to lockdown, everyone was rendered jobless. Most of them have returned to their home towns and some of them have taken up small jobs to meet ends meet. I also looked for other jobs in Delhi but could not get one. My entire family is facing a huge financial hardship," he said, stating that all of my family members used to work in private companies.
Rinku's mother Brahma is of the opinion that some means is needed to sustain the livelihood and hence, my children are selling vegetables. Rinku's sister-in-law Pooja said that when there was no corona, my husband and brother-in-law used to work at a company and the expenditure of the house was finely taken care of. But now they are out of work. She expressed her hope that in the coming days everything will get fine and their life would be back on track again.
Now, as governments allowing the normal business to resume across the country after months of lockdown, many people have been trying to take their economic condition of the track by opting for alternative business. According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 1,14,870 COVID cases in the state with 1,206 deaths so far.
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With ANI inputs
