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‘Financial package announced by Yediyurappa unlikely to give any relief’
Bengaluru The financial package announced by Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa as a measure of relief for those hardest hit due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown is unlikely to benefit those in dire need of it, said the members of unions for domestic workers, taxi and cab drivers, and activists among other sections
Bengaluru
The financial package announced by Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa as a measure of relief for those hardest hit due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown is unlikely to benefit those in dire need of it, said the members of unions for domestic workers, taxi and cab drivers, and activists among other sections.
Yediyurappa announced a ₹1,250-crore package on Wednesday, largely aimed at unorganised section of workers, but lack of registration facilities for various occupations, excessive documentation requirements, rental and multiple drivers for each vehicle and technical errors on Aadhaar-linked accounts among other problems weigh in on the actual payout as against the announced relief, they added.
The package comes at a time when Karnataka continues to remain in the tightening grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the government to go back on its decision to not announce a lockdown on account of unpreparedness for the impact of the imminent second wave of infections despite warnings from the state’s technical advisory committee (TAC) in November last year.
“Most of our members are yet to receive relief payments from last year itself,” Tanveer Pasha, president of the Ola Uber Drivers and Owners Association said.
In May last year, Yediyurappa announced a similar package of ₹1,610 crore that, among others, was aimed at providing ₹5,000 each to about 60,000 washermen, 230,000 barbers, 775,000 auto and taxi drivers.
However, this time around there has been a sharp decline in the number of beneficiaries too, according to the statement by the chief minister’s office.
In the case of auto, taxi, and maxi cab drivers, a one-time relief of ₹3,000 has been announced for 210,000 beneficiaries from an estimated 775,000 beneficiaries last time around.
“Last time we took the full numbers and then couldn’t trace them. So this time, we stuck to those who registered,” according to a senior government official, requesting not to be named.
The official, directly involved in the decision-making of the relief payout, said even the quantum of relief is lower than last year as the lockdown has been ‘brief’ compared to 2020.
M Manjunath, the president of the Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers Union, said the total payout was made to just 210,000 people last year. This included both auto and taxi drivers.
There are over 200,000 auto rickshaws in Bengaluru and another 100,000 across the state, according to estimates by unions. “We cannot understand how they estimated the total number of drivers,” Manjunath said. There are no exact statistics on the unorganised workforce in most urban centres in the country mostly due to the lack of any unions, recognition from the government, or issue of identification cards, activists and union members said.
Among the most vulnerable are domestic workers, who have been forced to remain at home without pay.
“Most domestic workers have no work. Now, they are giving ₹2,000. We don’t know how to even go there and take it,” Chitra, a domestic help said.
There is no official data on the total number of domestic workers in Bengaluru, activists said, which adds to the confusion as to how one can avail the relief, although it is grossly insufficient.
The government has announced to bear the burden of interest for three months only for farmers. However, no relief has been given to other sections that also have debt piling on account of loss of income.
“We do not get loans from cooperative or nationalised banks. It is mostly NBFCs or private banks. We were hoping that they (NBFCs and private banks) would be called and warned not to harass us for payments,” Manjunath added.
Nor any relief on home rentals, which is one of the biggest -- if not the biggest -- expenditure of most working households.
“The relief announced by the state government shows its callous attitude. It’s mere lip-service,” Vinay Sreenivasa, advocate and member of Federation of Street Vendor Union of Bengaluru, told Hindustan Times.
He adds that the government is out of touch with reality which is paying ₹2,000 as ‘relief’.
“Even in terms of disbursement, there is confusion. No one knows how to get it. Government should speak to unions and workers first and understand the reality of the crisis and respond comprehensively,” Sreenivasa added.
