Imagine the life of someone who has to take pills/capsules before going to sleep at night just to bear the pain in his muscle and bones due to heavy weights, which he had to lift during daytime. There is no life for Palledaar (terminology for coolies, who lift grain sacks) after the age of 40 as they often succumb under various kinds of illness and deformities that they develop acting as a ‘human crane’ for couple of years. Due to spinal problems, most of them cannot stand straight after working for five years in the narrow alleys and lanes of Chandni Chowk, Khari Baoli and adjoining areas, lifting heavy weights on their backs.
“We earn around Rs 200 to 300 per day. It depends on the load we carry on our backs,” said Neeraj, a labourer from Bihar. “We generally carry loads on our back and sometimes use carts to drop goods to the warehouses. Due to narrow lanes vehicles cannot move in these areas,” he explained.
The Chawri Bazar market is so crowded that demands of labourers who carry loads on their backs are always high.
Raju Bhai, 45, has been working as a daily labourer in Chawri Bazar market for years. When asked, he said he cannot even stand straight due to carrying heavy goods on his back for long time. “You have to bend while carrying load on your back and after working the whole day I find it difficult to rest with severe body ache,” he said.
Many among them claimed that they regularly take pain killers before going to bed. Even after working day and nights they cannot afford to send their children to schools. Instead they prefer them to join the same services to earn extra money for the family.
Nitin Rawat and his two sons are involved in the jobs for years but still they are not living with dignity. “My sons want to send their children to schools but what will happen after schooling. We are not as much qualified to guide our children to become officers.
In this case, our community opts to employ them in the same profession rather than sending schools,” said Rawat.
Experts pointed out that the unorganised sector forms more than 80 per cent of the employed workforce in the country, and contributes more than 50 per cent in the national GDP. However, this sector often does not get the benefits of statutory provisions and welfare measures like pension, minimum wages, maternity benefits, safety standards at workplace etc. “The Government should ensure implementation the ongoing welfare scheme,” they said.