Bihar: Families still hesitant to engage domestic workers

PATNA: Domestic helps play an important role in many households in urban areas. But some of the residents in the city have prohibited their domestic helpers as they do not want to take any risk of getting infected by the coronavirus, though their workload has increased substantially.
Most of such residents approached for comments said they are staying indoors and the need for a domestic help has increased more than ever. For 61-year-old Asha Devi, life without domestic help has become very difficult. “I had two helpers, one for cleaning and the other one for cooking food. Being a diabetic and arthritis patient, it’s impossible for me to move around and look after the household chores,” the Saguna Mor resident said.
She added: “It’s true that people like me having underlying diseases are more vulnerable to getting infected by the virus. But there are other important things to be taken care of.”
Kadamkuan resident Neha Shree, who recently started calling her maid, said: “Working from home with a three-year-old kid is next to impossible. My husband and me work from 10am to 8pm. At times it gets very difficult to do everything, from cooking and cleaning to looking after my son,” said Neha Shree of Kadamkuan.
At residential colonies and housing societies, more than 50% of house helpers have resumed work. Abhay Nandan, secretary of Pataliputra Vikas Manch, said most residents have started calling their maids after the third phase of lockdown extension. “At least 50-60% houses have engaged their maids and servants again. We are also not stopping them as all sectors have got partial relief from the lockdown,” he said.
He said most of the domestic helps had become jobless. “Residents helped them initially, but with the lockdown extensions, most of them stopped helping. At least two-three maids have asked me for work in the last few days as they find it difficult to meet their basic necessities,” Nandan said.
Some others said people should not invite the virus to their homes. Usha Jha, president of Bihar Mahila Udyog Sangh, said: “This is a very critical situation for everyone. The government has also asked us to stay in a lockdown and maintain social distancing. Hence, I have stopped calling my house helper. Calling maids and servants at a time like this will not just risk my life but theirs too.”