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Amid Biting Cold, Rickshaw Pullers, Hawkers Forced To Work For Survival In Capital

By LokMarg 31st December 2022

Despite the biting cold affecting the national capital, this December, not everyone is very fortunate to have a hot coffee and a warm bed. There are certain sections that are compelled to work in the open during this chilling season as the mercury dips.

After a brief respite, severe cold conditions returned to the national capital on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 10 degrees celsius at the Safdarjung station in Delhi.
In such circumstances on Delhi’s streets, we can see many people putting efforts to connect the ends either by selling tea or pulling rickshaws. Moreover, hawkers, sweepers, and many other professionals have also gotten no respite from the cold.

A tea seller in Delhi told ANI that he opens his shop daily as several other people come to his shop early in the morning.

“I have to open the tea stall at 4 am as there are many people, especially auto drivers, rickshaw pullers, and hawkers, come here to my shop to start their day with the tea from my shop,” said the tea shop owner Ramesh Sharma.

A sweeper Lalit who sweeps the street near Civil Lines said “I am an MCD worker, I have to do work even if it is cold or raining before Delhi wakes up because it’s my job. I come here at 4 and sweep the street before the traffic starts to run, else it would become very challenging.”

Meanwhile, one of the rickshaw pullers here, Basir Khan said that they are compelled to work in such conditions as he has to feed the family.

“People like us have to work every day under compulsion if we start being affected by the cold waves or rain, how will our families survive and how will my children study? Everything would turn difficult,” rickshaw puller Basir Khan said.

Another rickshaw puller, who is also a migrant worker from Bihar, Dashrath Sahni, expressed his feelings and said that if affected by weather, he would not be able to pay the rent of the rickshaw to its owner.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), New Delhi’s Lodhi Road experienced ‘Very Poor’ air quality this morning with AQI recorded at 369.

The India Meteorological Department earlier predicted that cold wave conditions would likely prevail from December 31 and January 1 over Haryana, Chandigarh, and New Delhi.

In a tweet on December 28, IMD said, “Reduction in dense fog and cold day conditions over northwest India during next 48 hours. A fresh spell of dense fog and cold wave likely to commence over northwest India from 31st December 2022”. (ANI)