Bucketing day becomes a nightmare for many

Rain is known as a blessing and usually people feel a sigh of relief when it rains. But on the other hand, the same rain becomes a cause of more worries for many poor people. Whenever it rains, it means more hunger in their homes. These are the labourers working on daily wages who do not find any work in a rainy day.

They sit on footpaths early in the morning in shape of groups along with their labouring equipment and remain searching for any work from which they could earn bread and butter for their families. Hardly a labourer could manage to earn 100 or 200 rupees a day. But whenever it rains, it puts a zero figure in their account at the end of the day. In a pouring evening when we arrange some extra food in our homes like ‘Pakoras and Samosas, or chips; these people may have simply nothing to eat.

In a rainy morning, the fear of death could be seen clearly on the faces of these labourers. A drizzling dawn is not less than a nightmare for these souls. They also come on the footpaths during showery mornings but with their desperate faces and vacant eyes. In this condition, they have to borrow some money from someone to meet their needs of that day. Those who give their services in every type of work -- even in extreme hot weather during summers, they become infertile all of a sudden as rain dampens their strong muscles, making them useless. They are not given incentives from any government or authority in such jobless conditions.

“Whenever it rains, I don’t find any work throughout the day and it becomes difficult for me to fulfil the needs of my family and I have to borrow some money for this purpose. Currently I have a large debt to pay,” Kareem Jaan, a daily-wage labourer told INFN.  He further said that he often prays that it does not rain though he knows that rain is necessary but it always brings more worries for him.

Nazir alias ‘Lala’ is another labourer who works on daily wages. He said that he is the father of three sons and two daughters and he has to manage food and their school dues himself but in rainy season it becomes tough for him to manage all. When he was asked that why he does not save some money for a rainy day?, he replied with a moaning smile, “What should I save from 150 or 200 rupees a day I earn amid soaring prices of daily-use-commodities?”

“In a rainy day, I stay at home with my family and the whole day is spent in thinking about the next day that what if it rains again tomorrow?” Sadeeq Shaheen, a labourer shared his worries with INFN.