Two years ago, Arjuna Award-winning wrestler Ashok Garg started a business of sports, taking a loan of Rs 15 lakh. Before the lockdown, he used to earn Rs 50,000 a month, but after the lockdown, keeping earnings aside, it has become difficult to pay back the monthly installments of Rs 17,000.
Similarly, Rampher, who works as a filter plant operator in a swimming pool, did not earn money this season. The pandemic has forced him to shut the pool and return to his hometown in Amethi. Today, Rampher is looking after a family of nine people, working as a daily-wage labourer in a nearby field for sustenance.
On asking whether there was any help from the government, Rampher says, “On one occasion I received some dry ration from the government which lasted for just a few days,”
“I labour in a paddy field to support my family. After an excruciating day of toil, I manage to earn not more than Rs 200 a day, and that is too less to sustain 9 people” he added.
The story of 30-year-old gym trainer Sachin Dera is not different either. He says that there were three trainers in a gym in Indirapuram and all of them, owing to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, are left with no work at all. They are worried about what will happen to them and their family the day their savings run out. “The gym will be opened later, till then we have to consume eggs from food supplements to keep fit. For this, we get to hear a lot from home too,” said Dera. “Life has become very difficult.”
The biggest disruption has happened to the gym, swimming pool owners, and the personnel involved. Apart from this, those who were working on the contract also had to pay a heavy price in lockdown. Today, there are 400 to 450 swimming pools run via KVS, DDA, Delhi administration, five-star hotels, and farmhouses in Delhi. The 25m pool employs approximately 11 people and in a 50m pool, 38 people including coaches, lifeguards, pump operators, security personnel, scavengers, and receptionists are involved.
There are thirty-three 50m pools in the capital, while the rest of the pools are around 25m. In this regard, about 16,000 workers associated with these swimming pools have no work today. The owner of 25-metre pool who would earn somewhat between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 40 lakh a season, stands now at zero. The owners of the 50-metre pools are facing a similar fate.
National Wushu player Shiksha, hailing from Indergarh village in Rohtak, was forced to work in MGNREGA. Later, she was forced to work in the fields. Shiksha has won several medals in State and National level events
There are lakhs of people— from gym trainers to swimming pools and contract workers—who are facing a severe crisis to run their livelihood. Amid the abysmal financial stringencies, people mired up in crisis are looking up to the government for immediate assistance.