On a road towards Punjabi Bagh, two men — one wearing a PPE kit — stand near a two-wheeler with a poster that reads: ‘Sanitising car exterior for ₹50 and two-wheeler for ₹20’.
Adapting to changing times when most people are extra cautious of their surroundings, out-of-work labourers have resorted to new businesses, including providing instant car sanitising services by the road.
Curious public
On Monday afternoon, Rahul (23) and Rahul (25), who both go by their first name, stood in the scorching heat waiting for customers. Many commuter and pedestrians stopped near the duo to examine the PPE suit, but did not use the services.
“People are scared of availing services right now. But they are enquiring and might start using it in a day or two,” said Rahul.
A group of four youth, all from economically weaker section, started the business after being out of work for over two months.
“Roti to khaani hai. Socha do paise kama lenge isse [We have to eat. We thought we would be able to earn some money through this],” said Bharat, one of the four partners who resides in a rented accommodation in Rajouri Garden.
Rahul, Rahul, Bharat and Mukesh got together about a year ago and started their business of cleaning cars, sofas, toilets, and kitchen. They registered themselves on an online service-providing application and got clients through that. “But for the last two months, we have hardly received any assignment,” he said.
A popular idea
The four men got the idea on Saturday when they had gone to Rohini and spotted two people offering car sanitising services on the roadside. “This gave us an idea that we could also do this in west Delhi. We already had the sanitisation machine as we wanted to start a pest-control service but that did not work out,” said Bharat, adding that they started the sanitising services on Monday.
Rahul (23), who is from West Bengal and lives with his wife in a rented accommodation in Raghubir Nagar, said that people are not availing services at the moment. “I am wearing the PPE kit so that people feel safe and so do I. But right now, people are not getting their cars sanitised here. However, around 10 of our old clients have called us to their residences for sanitisation,” he added.