Jaipur (Rajasthan): Though the threat of coronavirus has affected all sections of the society, the biggest sufferers of the country-wide lockdown have been the poor. Many factories and construction projects in and around Jaipur have closed down because of the lockdown, which has adversely affected the daily-wagers employed in such establishments.
Even as the poor daily-wagers have exhausted their money, their landlords have begun putting pressure on them to pay up the rent or vacate the rooms they have been living in. These labourers are also finding it difficult to buy food grains and other essentials for survival.
Under such severe hardship, the labourers have started leaving the city by foot, carrying their small children along, as there is no means of transport available to take them to their villages hundreds of miles away.
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When ETV Bharat asked the people in exodus about what measures the government was taking to address their problems, they said they had no idea. They said no government official had come to inquire about their condition, calling the government bluff that food packets and essential provisions were being provided daily by special teams to the poor families.
The government has also claimed that the landowners have been barred from forcibly evicting their tenants.
The government announcements are yet to be seen being implemented at the ground level and it seems it would take time for the various decisions it has taken to reach the poor.
With today being only the third day of the 21-days-lockdown, it remains to be seen what steps the government takes to ensure that its announcements actually have an effect on the ground, where the poor are being evicted out with nothing to fall back on.
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