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Working in the times of coronavirus: Am being thrashed by cops on a regular basis, says Ludhiana vendor
24-year-old Ranjit Kumar provides an essential service, but gets the stick for his troubles
24-year-old Ranjit Kumar has been a vegetable vendor since he was in his teens. However, he finds himself being shooed away by police personal and struggling to earn a living since the lockdown was imposed.
Before the outbreak, his daily routine involved picking up fresh green leafy vegetables from farmers of Ladiyan and Jassian Village at 7am and then selling them to residents in 20 lanes of Joginder Nagar.
However, now despite the risk of getting infected, he has to deliver vegetables from door-to-door: “If I do not move out and sell vegetables than my family will have to sleep without food, so I must go out and sell vegetables despite the risk.”
The task is rife with difficulties as cops are not allowing vendors to commute on the roads. Kumar says, “Though, vegetables are an essential commodity, cops are not supporting us and thrash us on a daily basis.”
“Over the last 12 days, many people have stopped purchasing vegetables as they say the prices of vegetables have shot up. They all purchase small quantities after much haggling. I would earlier earn Rs 600- Rs 700 by selling vegetables such as spinach, radish, cauliflower and peas, now I earn Rs 200 per day, which isn’t enough to run my house,” he says.
“We are a family of four and these days we are finding it hard to scrap two meals a day. Yesterday, I had to borrow money from my friend to purchase ration. I do not know for how long this lockdown will continue, but I’m not sure if we can go on like this for much longer,” says Kumar.
He, however, says he is taking precautionary measures such as covering my face with a handkerchief and wearing gloves. “I always maintain a distance when I talk to another person and clean my cart everyday,” he adds.
