No end to suffering of 1.5 lakh workers in transport sector

Muhammad Ismail, a driver, every day waits at Hawal Chowk along with many non-local labourers to find work to feed his family of six. But every afternoon he returns disappointed to his home.

Ismail, who owns a passenger vehicle having a market value of Rs 11 lakh, is these days jobless and penniless due to lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

   

The situation arising out of lockdown according to him has forced him to do menial jobs to feed his family of six including his ailing aged mother whose monthly medication costs Rs 2000.

“For last three months, my vehicle is grounded. I have exhausted all my savings. Sometimes some NGOs offer to help, but I prefer to earn with dignity rather than seeking alms. But there are no work,” he says excruciatingly.

There are thousands others in the transport sector with same story to tell. None has received any aid from the government so far.

Since the abrogation of J&K’s special status in August 2019, transporters in Kashmir have been able to resume operations for just 25 days prior to the imposition of covid19 lockdown.

Though the government has eased restrictions allowing reopening of shops and business establishments rotation-wise, no such relief has been given to the public transport.

This situation has left an estimated 1.5 lakh people affiliated with Kashmir’s transport sector jobless.

As per preliminary estimates, there are around 50,000 commercial vehicles operating in Kashmir which constitute major chunk of public transport here.

Secretary, Kashmir Transporters Welfare Association, Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf said “It is irony that nobody is bothered about the transporters. On one side, public transport is barred and on the other the transport department has ordered operation of SRTC fleet for ferrying intra-district passengers.”

“There are 1.5 lakh workers who are directly associated with the transport sector, they include drivers, conductors and others. More than 50,000 commercial vehicles are grounded.

“Nobody is even talking about us. The government of India announced a mega Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus package, but unfortunately transporters in Kashmir haven’t got anything. Such is the situation that transporters are using their costly vehicles for selling fruits or vegetables.

“There is a huge liability on account of insurance, taxes, bank loans accumulating on us; how can we pay when we don’t earn anything; we don’t have anything to feed our families,” he asked, adding that the transporters have felt compelled to sell their properties for their survival.

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