Lockdown woes: Pandemic puts sudden brake to life of this driving school teacher

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Driving schools were a means of livelihood for many like Vanchiyoor native Ratheesh C M. He has been a driving school instructor for 10 years now, a job he hasn’t done in almost a year due to the pandemic. The sole breadwinner of his family, which includes an ailing mother, says he cuts each day thinking the lockdown will be lifted soon. 

As days turned bleaker, Ratheesh was forced to sell the last few gold ornaments his wife had saved. “The rent of the house is on due for the last two months. My two sons are four and seven years old. How can I feed them with just the free food kit supplied by the government? We need milk, fish, eggs and vegetables, or my kid would be malnourished. I want to be able to afford food that other fathers can. Also, my mother is sick.

My income also took care of her medical expenses,” says Ratheesh helplessly, talking about having to take his wife’s gold.  “As a token of help from the government, we were provided `1,000. But that amount is nothing for a family of four or five members. We just want to get back to work and start earning again,” says Ratheesh.

Lockdown diAries

Our state has been reeling under lockdown for weeks now. The government and police department may have their reasons for closing doors on many people’s lives and livelihoods, but that doesn’t make the trouble go away. Everyday, in this space, TNIE zooms into the life of one of us, beaten down by the pandemic-induced restrictions. Want us to tell a story? Write to the editor on kochicityeditor@gmail.com