Road to nowhere

CHENNAI: It’s been more than three months since autorickshaw driver V Ramesh Kumar had a satisfying number of rides in a day. He lives with his family in a small rented house in Mogappair West. His son, who recently joined a new job on completing his diploma before the lockdown, has been asked to stay at home without pay. His daughter has given her class 12 exams and his wife is a homemaker. The mounting financial woes and emotional turmoil concerning the future of his children have added to the bread winner’s misery. 

The lives of daily wage earners went for a toss when coronavirus came to Chennai bringing businesses to a screeching halt. And among this community are the autorickshaw drivers whose future is covered by a gloomy drape where there is no rope for any ray of hope. With there being no complete clearance for public transport through the consecutive lockdowns, there seems to be no end to this ‘new normal’ of things. And so, autorickshaw drivers have no other go but to dip into their savings, seek loans, and hope for help to come their way. 

Ignored and forgotten
“I’ve requested the house owner for extra time to pay the rent. I’m managing the household expenses with money borrowed from relatives. A few good Samaritans donated five kg of rice with some groceries. We hoped to see some money when the lockdown was relaxed on June 1 but 90 per cent of the customers never stepped out of their houses. I earned `100-`150 in the place of `400-`500, and that only covered fuel expenses. And with this, I have to arrange for sanitiser? How do I do that when there’s no money for my basic necessities? A few of us who had Nala Variyam cards, those granted to daily labourers, were fortunate to receive the bare minimum of `1,000 aid given by the government,” narrates Ramesh. Like him, most of the drivers feel that this special relief fund announced by the state government is not adequate to fulfil their everyday requirements. 

What came as an additional blow was that there was no considerable change in business even after the lockdown was relaxed. Sixty-three-year old Syed Ibrahim has been at this job since 1977, working mostly out of Shenoy Nagar. In all these years, his routine came to a grinding halt for the first time with the lockdown. “From May 23, the government said that autorickshaws could operate from 7 am to 7 pm with one just passenger. How’s it possible to refuse a ride to a family of two or three? When the public is already sceptical about safety protocols being followed in public transport, imposing more restrictions is making it worse. It’s difficult to face my wife when she asks for money. With the arrival of Ola and Uber, we lost our loyal customers as well. It’s disheartening to see our otherwise bustling autorickshaw stands empty. We sought solace in each other’s company. Now, I can only step out when the public transport resumes,” shares Syed. 

Heroes in khaki
Keeping their personal woes aside, a few drivers have donned their capes and stepped up to help the general public in any way possible. D Arul Raj, known for rescuing the homeless, is continuing to help fellow drivers with financial aid and relief work when his own family is struggling to make ends meet. He has helped around 450 autorickshaw drivers and their families with groceries through a crowd-funding initiative and with the help of NGOs. He has also been attending to medical emergencies of pregnant women, elderly people and children. 

“Everybody has lost their livelihood in some way or the other. If we keep whining, it will only take a toll on our mental health and nobody will care for that either. My only request to the public is that they do not hail an auto when they are sick and showing symptoms. The driver’s life is as important as yours,” he suggests. 

Monthly dues and rent towards automobile financiers has been a major problem plaguing the drivers’ and financiers’ livelihoods. Especially for drivers like Srinivasan who has given his autorickshaws on rent to other drivers. “I haven’t had the heart to ask for rent from other drivers knowing the circumstances. But my children’s fee, loans and insurance are also taking a hit. I’m helpless. Seeing how worried I was, my cousin motivated me to volunteer and take up relief work. I’ve been distributing groceries and food packets to the needy and stranded migrants around the city,” says Srinivasan with a glint of pride. 

A significant chunk of his passengers are schoolchildren. With schools shut down and no news on reopening dates, Srinivasan is disappointed about the bleak future. “I ride mainly around T Nagar and Usman Road. That would fetch me enough rides as an alternative when schools close for the summer holidays. A few parents help me now and then with financial aid,” he adds. Forty-nine-year-old Ezhumalai lost his job as a chauffeur just before the lockdown. His previous employer gifted him an autorickshaw to kickstart his next job, on March 26. It was two months before he could put the vehicle to use. 

“Sticking to the rules, I was taking only one customer per ride. I wear a mask and a pair of gloves. I sanitise my hands, the interiors of the vehicle, and even the wheels after dropping off every customer. Uber and Ola have been having zero to no service during lockdown, so this is when people need us the most,” details Ezhumalai, who accepts a fair fee depending on the distance.

Driven by dignity
It is not often that you see female autorickshaw drivers on the road. Especially not now when even the few who have a loyal customer base have been forced to stay indoors. The lockdown has added to their many woes. “It’s mostly an abusive marriage or domestic violence that pushes us to ride autorickshaws to earn our bread and butter. I’ve been riding an autorickshaw for more than 22 years. With no business in the past four months, my rental fee has come up to Rs 40,000. How many rides should I take to arrange for this huge sum? If not corona, then poverty and hunger will surely kill us,” says Raji Ashok.

She used to earn Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 per month. Now the family has been managing the expenses with her son’s income. “We need the Nala Variyam card to avail of `1,000 given by the government. Most of us have lost it or not renewed it. It’s even more painful that nobody has stepped forward to talk about the plight of autorickshaw drivers. There are around three lakh of us in Tamil Nadu and more than 30,000 in Chennai. Neither the government nor the auto union has taken any measures to support us. We feel abandoned,” adds Raji, a resident of Perambur. 

Subhashini, a victim of domestic violence, began riding autorickshaws in 2016 to take care of her children. During this lockdown, she was asked to vacate her house. “I’ve left my children with relatives for now and I also surrendered my auto because I had to pay rent for that too. Even when I took it back on June 1, nobody booked a ride. I did not have the money to even pay for fuel. We are daily wagers and do not have enough savings. The day’s earnings do not suffice even for the whole day,” complains Subhashini, who looked for alternative employment in the Corporation but couldn’t find any. 

Dead-end
While autorickshaw drivers are looking forward to July and the end of the lockdown to make up for the lost rides, share-auto drivers are not sure when they will get to do the same. Husband and wife duo, S Lakshmi Priya and K Suresh Babu, are both in the business, working along the IT corridor from Tidel Park to Navalur. “We live in a small house with our son in Taramani. If we toil from 7 am to 6 pm, then each of us can earn `400-`500 per day. Out of which, we have the rental expense, bills and school fees. Even after the lockdown was relaxed, we had no business. We’re clueless about the future of share autos,” says Suresh, who provides rides in a three-wheeler. 

The duo moved from Ambur to Chennai nine years ago in search of a livelihood. “We have borrowed money and have pending debts. We don’t have money for the next meal. We even considered begging but the little dignity left in us kept us from doing so. There’s no peace of mind. I’m not sure how many years we have to work to repay all our debts and start our life afresh. Perhaps, never,” he rues.  Commuters who rely on autorickshaws and other public transport too are affected. Uma Kumar, a software professional, has to take three modes of transport from her house in Mogappair to her office in Perungudi.

While her colleagues, who stay near the office or have own vehicles, have been going to the office for the past month, she has been forced to work from home with a pay cut. “The office also does not provide cabs because of the distance. How’s it fair? We have no option but to take the cut. I enjoyed travelling by train and autos. I’m eagerly waiting for things to resume,” she says. This 12-day lockdown has again become a speed breaker in all their dreams, plans and wishes. While a few have managed to find alternative jobs, the rest are holding on to few threads of hope, yearning for transportation services to resume. We will have to wait too.