Electricians, plumbers, house helps take tentative steps back to work

Electricians, plumbers, part-time house helps and other workers took tentative steps back to work on Monday as large parts of India, including the national capital, entered the third phase of the lockdown with curbs eased in some places.

As spring slipped into summer and the lockdown, which began on March 25, continued, people waited eagerly for electricians to service air-conditioners, plumbers to repair washing machines and broken taps, domestics to get back for the deep cleaning that never did get done and a host of other urgent jobs.

On the other end of the spectrum were the band of workers, trained in myriad necessary jobs that keep the household machine going smoothly, who found themselves without jobs and money.

Many of them, like Manoj Koli, an electrician for over 20 years, said they were reduced to scrambling for food and the lifting of some lockdown restrictions will hopefully mean a semblance of normalcy.

I haven't earned a single rupee since March 21. It will be difficult to get back to work until electrical shops selling spare parts like wires and sockets also open. It is still too early to tell, Manoj told PTI.

With some electrical shops now open, that problem should hopefully be resolved. But I should get some work before all of that, the electrician, who lives in south Delhi's Dakshninpuri locality with his parents, wife and children, added.

The lockdown, to curtail the spread of coronavirus, has been extended for two weeks till at least May 17. Several restrictions have been lifted and several remain.

Declaring that the time had come to reopen Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday evening, "Self-employed people like technicians, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, sanitation workers, domestic helps, and people involved with laundry and ironing are allowed to work."