SRINAGAR: The Covid-19 lockdown has left cab and vehicle drivers without a livelihood. Majeed Ahmad, 40, says he has been suffering since the lockdown imposed after abrogation of Article 370 and now there seems to be no end to it.
“It has been almost eight months now since August that I am unable to work. I have a wife and three kids to feed. I earn only when I work,” he said, appealing to the government to help people like him.
The authorities have banned all types of public and private transport except those delivering essential supplies and services.
“Be it a lockdown due to conflict or a diseases, it is the transport workers who are affected the most. For the past eight months we are struggling to manage our daily bread. The government has schemes for widows, loan takers, farmers, etc, but what about us? It is not a matter of 21 days; we have been struggling for eight months,” said Farooq Ahmad, a minibus driver.
Auto- rickshaw driver Bilal Ahmad said that it is difficult to meet the expenses of his family, consisting of his wife, two children, and aged mother. “We have already suffered a lot due to last year’s restrictions. We don’t when we will again start earning,” he said
Ahamd said he used to earn Rs 300 to 350 rupees a day, so he has no savings. “Whatever I earned I would spend on the medicines of my mother and other essential expenses of my family. I know my situation is going to become worse,” he rued.
As per official records, there are 1,500 passenger buses, 4,000 minibuses, and about 20,000 Tata Sumo taxis in Kashmir.

NAZIMA SIDIQ