Everytime we step out to buy groceries or take a rickshaw ride or any such facility ,we As Indians feel that something is missing as long as we don't bargain for that 10-15 Rs whereas, we are ready to pay any amount to the bigger players like shopping brands and eatery stores .
Every second rickshaw-puller in the city, especially in and around central Delhi, is a seasonal migrant, who come to the city with just a few clothes and heads straight to one of the thousands of garages across the city owned by rickshaw contractors.
Most rickshaw-pullers live a wretched life. After pedalling for almost 12-15 hours a day, most of them sleep in the garage (makeshift structures where rickshaw are parked and repaired) with only a tarpaulin to save them from the sun and the rain. Many rickshaw-pullers, worried about their vehicle being stolen, simply sleep on their rickshaw. And then, there are thousands who find the city’s footpaths a better place to spend the night.
But sleeping on the footpath is dangerous. In the night, the rickshaw-pullers say local ruffians snatch their hard-earned money. The police don’t help them, saying that those who rob them of their money are of their ilk. The police often use them to put up and remove barricades, which sometimes they hitch to their rickshaws.
Words from a richshaw driver :-
At 5pm, i get ready to leave the garage with my rickshaw. While people get dropped at a mall where they do not mind spending thousands in a restaurant, they haggle over a fare of `15 with me, and there are many who walk away without paying. And if we argue, we get a hard slap,” , his voice laced with anger.
There is no minimum fare, no parking stands for them, banks do not give them loans to buy rickshaws and they are barred from all arterial roads in the city. Instead of being rewarded with carbon credits, they continue to be considered a nuisance.
Most stop plying their rickshaws by the time they turn 50. The daily toil takes its toll on their lungs and heart. They survive on meagre food, work in tough weather conditions. This city needs to be kinder to them.
We may be can't fight their battle but we can surely support them by giving them what they actually deserve .
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