Another day, another bandh marked by violence. Things could not have been worse for us beleaguered common people. Apart from other worries, we have to worry about our job or our property. After all, these workers do not pay for the damage to our property like vehicles. It is either us or the insurance companies.

And the less said about both the rulers and the opposition, the better. It seems that the only parties that care for us are in the opposition. While the rulers are ridiculed over their campaign slogans on these same topics, it is not as if the opposition parties care. The Congress rails against rising fuel prices but has implemented fuel price hikes in Karnataka.

So what does it really mean for us? All many people know is that during the so-called ‘bure din’, we could get petrol at a much cheaper rate. And it is not as if we have much choice when it comes to transport. Is there an option to using our own vehicle, as far as Pune is considered? Metro work is still incomplete. Traffic is a mess due to both police apathy and irresponsible citizens and PMPML is not up to the task to carry the load.

Let me make one thing clear. I am neither pro-Modi, nor do I oppose him. But the picture around us paints a desolate picture indeed. On one hand, the cost of living is increasing, but most of us are not able to strike a balance between expenditure and savings, as the ever increasing cost of essential goods cuts into everything. The job market is also in doldrums. Demonetisation and various external factors have left many of us in fear about whether we would lose our livelihood. This is how bad the job scenario has become. The once booming IT sector is laying off people. In Maharashtra, if someone wants to take up another profession, it is not easy. Take a look at farming. While it seems the affluent can buy agricultural land with ease, we have to jump through various hoops for it. We are living each day as if it is our last.

Yes, contrary to what many say on social media, don’t judge all of us by a few. Most of us are people just doing our job. We live in the same condition as rest of you. These factors that affect you, affect us too.

Coming back to our original point, what action is being taken to correct this imbalance between savings and expenditure? Yes, external factors are definitely at play, but we the common citizens expect the people in power to come up with solutions instead of mutual finger pointing and random violence. The GST is another just another added woe. A single tax should have been made things easier. Instead, it seems things have gotten just a wee bit costly, not cheaper.

As usual for us, the promised land still lies further ahead and nobody seems to be willing to take us there.