Working class still in a fix

Rawalpindi : It has been almost four weeks when the lockdown was imposed in the country to check the spread of coronavirus outbreak in Rawalpindi, but apart from daily wagers, a number of people attached with different professions have been left wondering here and there in search of food due to closure of their businesses.

It is not only the daily wagers, but a large number of salesmen working in cloth, crockery, electronics, mobile, sweets, barber cosmetics and jewellery shops, printing presses, hotels, cafés, beauty parlours, have been seen wandering in search of food for over 25 days during the lockdown. The poor public is anxiously waiting for Prime Minister’s ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ but the force has not approached them nor have they been provided ration.

Public is getting more and more agitated with each passing day because of the inability of the government both at federal and provincial levels to provide them rations to feed the hungry facing lockdown amid an outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

It was positive development that some of them in the state of helplessness have adopted different kinds of businesses and selling sanitizer bottles, hand gloves, masks and other protective items on roadsides. Similarly, some of them are selling ‘Chawal’, ‘Haleem’ and ‘Chany’ here at Sabzi Mandi.

Dozens of women with their children and hundreds of poor men could be seen sitting along roads waiting for help for three times meal during the lockdown.

The poor daily wagers have claimed that they were without work and without food for over three weeks, but government was only busy in conducting meetings instead of taking practical steps at least to provide three times meal to them. Prime Minister Imran Khan has set up ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ to provide poor people three times meal but in vain, the poor daily wagers strongly denounced.

According to information, the number of ‘Corona Relief Tiger Force’ has crossed 300,000 marks with 8310 females also registered to be part of it to provide relief to weak segments of the society, affected by coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Over 339,144 have registered themselves and of these, 330,531 are males, 8,310 are females and 301 have been marked as others on the Citizens Portal and Control Room has been set up for this purpose at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Talking to ‘The News’ the hungry people sitting along the roads said that government could close down all businesses within hours but could not find out homes to provide ration to them. They said that ‘Corona Tiger Force’ is only waste of time because poor daily wagers are continuously facing worst situation but government as per habit is only making tall claims in press conferences.

The poor daily wagers said that government is only focusing to provide relief package to Utility Stores Corporation (USC) but stores are not providing us items free of cost. We are in worst situation now expecting all food items free of cost in lockdown days, the poor daily wagers appealed.