Lockdown leaves auto driver in gloom

New Delhi: Rajesh a 35-year-old auto driver in the national Capital was earning enough to look after his two children with disabilities but since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown with barely four hours notice — a decision that unleashed chaos that India is still struggling to deal with — has left Rajesh and many like him in the gloom trying to provide food to their family.

Rajesh, who has been driving an auto for the past five years, lives with his family in a one-room, rented house in Mandawali. Ideally, he would earn Rs 400 to 500 per day but since the lockdown, he has no income. His two children — 12-year-old Rashi and 14-year-old Sonu — were born with mental retardation.

The Delhi Social Welfare Department has implemented disability pension under the Financial Allowance to persons with special needs. Through this scheme, the state government gives Rs 1,500 per month for each child with a disability.

"I usually get Rs 3,000 but this time I received Rs 5,000 on March 24 which has got us through this month. Our priority is to buy medicine for the children."

For Rajesh to depend on his children's pension money has been an emotional setback. "I never thought I would have to eat from their pension," he adds as his voice cracks.

According to a report, Intellectual and Development Disabilities (IDDs) are disorders that are usually present at birth and negatively affect the trajectory of the individual's development. Mental retardation, autism, down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and behaviour disorders are common examples of IDDs.

"They fight a lot and keep asking us to take them out. They want to go out and play and they don't understand why we can't do that. Being unable to go to the park adds to their anxiety," he adds.

The economic situation of the daily wage earners is a side effect of the Coronavirus and the sudden lockdown. Most daily wage earners move from villages to work in the cities as domestic helpers, drivers and gardeners, or as auto drivers to provide bread and butter for their families. "Food is a big problem for the children, my wife and I eat whatever we can manage but the kids have been throwing tantrums. Sonu has been asking for butter and we cannot afford it. How do I explain that to my son who is mentally not stable?"

The nationwide lockdown has shone a spotlight on the plight of millions of poor Indians who migrate from villages to cities in search of livelihood but without any source of income, they rather go back.