Pune: Concern about the financial situation has worsened due to the lack of jobs for autorickshaw driver, rag-pickers, hawkers and several others who carry out their business in the traditional way, and earn from hand to mouth. Due to the lack of income, they are unable to provide for their family's daily and basic needs. Taking all these factors into consideration, Pune's Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation met the Pune District Collector Naval Kishore Ram on Monday and demanded an immediate financial package from the state government. This package is to be realised for people who are daily wage earners.
The coronavirus pandemic has not only left us with a health crisis but also with a financial crisis. Pune is also one of the worst affected cities in Maharashtra, and it has also led to a pull-down of the economy. Several people are committing suicide, killing other people due to petty reasons and amongst others. However, in the future, the number will continue to rise until the outbreak dies down with a suitable vaccine.
The BJP delegation included City President Jagdish Mulik, MP Girish Bapat, General Secretary Ganesh Ghosh, Rajesh Yenpure, Yuva Morcha President Deepak Pote, Yuva Morcha State Office Bearer Swarada Bapat. Apart from these, Vinayak Gaikwad of Nabhik Samaj, Sunil Pandey, Suryakant Bhosale, Prashant Jhankar, Satish Nizampurkar, Prakash Abhyankar, and Shrikant Patil, were also present on the occasion.
MP Bapat said, "In Pune, there are around 12 types of traditional jobs are being carried by few communities. These include pot making, tailoring, gardening, goldsmith, blacksmiths, butchers, Barbers amongst others. Their hand to mouth existence depends on their business. There are more than one lakh small businesses like these in the city. The number of artisans working for these professionals is around three lakhs. This means that the number of traditional businesses and artisans is more than four lakh. There is also a large number of rickshaw drivers. Only by working every day can they can sustain themselves. But the last three months have been in a lockdown, and there is no work in their hands. As a result, it has become impossible for all these families to meet their daily needs. Therefore, the state government should announce a financial package for them.”
BJP city president Mulik said, "The package should be to meet the daily needs of the families such as food, clothing, shelter, health care and educational facilities for the children. In addition, financial options such as providing loans, concessions on existing loans and debt restructuring should be made available to start a new business. In addition, free training on self-employment, vocational skill training, and new business opportunities, technology, and skills-based programmes should be provided in order to be able to compete in the future. It was requested that a proposal must be made by the State Government immediately and it should be approved and implemented sooner. Otherwise, there will be extreme people's movement.”
