Cycle rickshaws were introduced in Delhi way back in 1940. Their number has increased phenomenally in the last couple of decades. Rickshaws can be seen in large numbers in the National Capital Region – from the roads of Chandini Chowk to the University campus. In the absence of any alternative mode of transport for short distances, the rickshaws emerged as a vital public service. But the rickshaw pullers still have to bear the brunt of low wages and sub-human conditions of living. They migrate to urban areas in search of a better livelihood only to face urban misery in replacement of rural poverty. In addition they face many other problems. The police as well as the commuters abuse them physically and verbally. The policemen harass them, sometimes damaging their rickshaws and they end up paying for the damages.
Since most rickshaw pullers do not own the rickshaws they pull, they have to pay a part of their daily earnings to the owners. Here too they are exploited. They also suffer from a lot of health problems as the job involves a lot of physical work and is particularly difficult for the older persons. Most rickshaw pullers said that they are physically exhausted at the end of the day and they have no energy left to do anything else. The rickshaw pullers earn a very low wage which is not sufficient to even afford their basic minimum necessities. They can hardly afford two meals a day.
These people also have aspirations in life. They want their children to study and do well in life. None of them want their children to be rickshaw pullers. They do long for a better livelihood. A lot of the rickshaw pullers are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Their families are based there and they have to earn in order to support them.
It would come as surprise to many people that some of the rickshaw pullers are graduates, and still they have not got a better job than pulling rickshaws. Manoj, a differently abled rickshaw puller says, “What can I do? Maybe it is this (his lack of nervous coordination) which is preventing me from moving ahead in life”. Overwhelmed with emotion he continues “though I have completed a six month certificate course in chair making and shoe polishing as well as typing, I am continuously being turned down by various employers”. The plight of this young man seems never-ending despite having the acquired the requisite skills.
The government’s attitude towards them has also not been particularly supportive. The government has used archaic laws to treat people working in this sector as though they are criminals and used the full might of the state to harass, fleece and hound them through bizarre regulations.
So the next time you climb onto a rickshaw, think what it feels like to be driving one all day.
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The author is a IIyr Economics Honours student and a Core Team Member of DevelopmentChannel.org
