Mir Irfan
Bilal Ahmed- A sumo driver who was earning his livelihood by plying his sumo from Keller to different areas of the district Shopian, in Kashmir, has been work-less due to the lockdown for more than ten months post the abrogation of Article 370 and then COVID pandemic.
The Lockdown has hit Bilal and his family severely, at the verge of starvation. Since his house has developed cracks, he along with his family resides in neighbours houses as it poses threat on their lives.
Bilal’s aged parents are on medication for life saving drugs, but due to lock down he is unable to provide them medicines as well. “How can we survive, the Government has just enforced a shutdown and forgot us,” Bilal told The Kashmiriyat.
Like Bilal there are thousands of such stories about drivers throughout Kashmir and in Indian mainland who are facing the ‘worst phase’ of their life.
Shabir Ahmed, a Drivers’ union president from Kashmir told The Kashmiriyat, “the unions have demanded financial package as well other interventions like postponement of loan premiums of their vehicles and rebate in taxes to tide over the difficult times”.
Facing threat to their livelihood because of the complete lock-down in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, several Sumo unions from Shopian and other parts of Kashmir valley have appealed the government to provide them financial assistance.
The unions have demanded financial package as well other interventions like postponement of loan premiums of their vehicles and rebate in taxes to tide over the difficult time.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi had announced a complete lockdown across the India to contain the spread of the novel virus. “The government should provide a package to bail out sumo drivers from the debt they are facing,” said president Sumo Association Shopian.
He said that the association has already written to the government for help, but nothing has been done so far. “Centre should help the driver community, who have been forced to abide by the restrictions during the lock-down.”
A large number of sumo drivers and their families are in a precarious situation, but neither the Centre nor the UT government has offered any help to them.