The poor at the receiving end- Rain spells paralyzed labour’s life

By Sohail Rashid 

Once much prayed for, the ongoing monsoon rain spells, made people to pray otherwise seeking God’s forgiveness due to heavy rains that caused heavy floods rendering millions homeless and thousand killed. Recent rains and flood crippled livelihood of daily wage workers.

The fate of the families of these labourers is totally dependent upon their daily earning which they make everyday after a tough job at a different site each day. These labourers usually sit on road sides early in the morning with their tools in search of work and after waiting for hours; they hardly get a little job through which they bring bread and butter for their children at evening.

This segment of society doesn’t love rain; in fact it is a nightmare for them because they remain jobless on every wet day. “I didn’t get any work for last many days because of rain and now I have to barrow money from others to keep running my household” said Taimoor Nawaz, a labourer working on daily wages near Pindora Chungi.

Mukaram Zubair, another labour said monsoon downpour deprived me of any work opportunity. “If rain spell continues for few more days, my family has to face hunger” he added.

“I hate rain because it gives hunger to my innocent Children” said Parvez Akhtar, a labourer working on daily basis. He further said that as he is not educated, he can’t do any other job.

These labourers are facing double sprain. Most of them are settled with their families in low lying congested areas where rain water is pounding through their houses and their families are in grip of epidemic diseases.

“My two children are sick but I have no resources for their proper treatment from any doctor as I am jobless these days,” said Zameer Ahmad, a labourer and a resident of Rahimabad.

Safeer Sheikh, another daily wages labourer and a resident of Dhok Khbba said he has to live at home to look after his family in rainy season because rain brings a lot of problems as well with it. “A poor has to suffer in all situations whether it is rain or dry, cold or hot. Intensive climate harm only our segment with its full strength and we have no other option than to see loss,” he said in a grumbling tone.

After a sleepless night, engulfed with fear to lose the shelter due to these rains, as it always happens that roofs of these poor people cave in and results in human loss as well as loss of shelter, these labourers come out of their homes with a hope to find livelihood for their families, but rain wipes out their hopes, energies and dreams. Urgent steps on practical ground are yet to be taken to meet the needs of this under privileged element of society- a safe roof and permanent means for income—INFN