Empty Hands, Rising Costs: Noida’s Workers Caught In A Crisis Loop
Noida’s informal hiring hub was unusually crowded on Tuesday, workers clutching their tools like lifelines, waiting for jobs that aren’t coming. Daily-wage labourers say work has dried up, wages have fallen, and gaps between jobs have widened—worsened by the LPG crisis forcing them to eat costlier meals outside. As the West Asia conflict ripples into Delhi-NCR’s labour markets, Arvind Kumar from Etah sums it up: “First it was demonetisation, then it was coronavirus, now it is the shortage of gas, is the government trying to kill the poor?” he said, adding that although he is not against the government, the authorities should do something to help
The labourers complain that the high LPG cost is affecting their livelihood, coupled with lower wages. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
The workers go days without getting hired, questioning why the West Asia crisis is hurting their income. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
Rajesh Singh, a mason from Gorakhpur, said that government promises are made only for the cameras. “Where are the benefits? Has the government forgotten that we exist? We have nothing to do with the war, so why are we suffering?” he asked. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
Along with the loss of work, wages have also shrunk. “The contractors shamelessly bargain with us and try to hire us for Rs 500. A cylinder costs up to Rs 450. How are we supposed to survive? The situation is pushing us towards suicide,” said Arving Kumar. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
Struggling to afford daily expenses, workers said that at least 20 per cent of the labour force at Noida’s market has returned to their native places in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
Babita, from Bihar, used to work as a cook in a bungalow before joining the labour force two months ago. She said political parties sweet-talk labour voters during elections but are nowhere to be seen now. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
Hundreds gather everyday at the market in a loose sprawl. They stand beside open stretches where refuse floated in a nearby drain, stirred by SUVs that honked for space as people in cars entered the factory against whose wall the labourers leaned. | Photo: Suresh K Pandey/Outlook
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