Poverty wave in the wake of the virus

The pandemic situation is tense, to say the least, for many in India, not just in terms of the actual infection case, which has claimed 160,000 lives in the past eight weeks. Latest figures show that 7.3 million jobs disappeared in April. The fallout from the coronavirus outbreak left 230 million Indians in poverty last year, according to a study by Azim Premji University in Bangalore.

The definition of poverty in this case is that you have to run for less than 375 rupees, that is, just over 40 kronor a day.

Additionally, 90 percent of India’s workforce works in the country’s informal sector, without social safety nets. Millions are also ineligible for government emergency rations.

The poor face a double crisis, partly the health crisis but also an economic one, says Anjali Bhardwaj of Right to Food campaigners.

We suffered from a major health crisis. . . Many were forced to use their savings to pay for family care.

The 65-year-old Abdul Jalil in Delhi moved from a construction job to drawing rickshaw, and his daily income has decreased from 500 rupees to around 100 rupees. In the small apartment, Mrs. Rachida prepares the only meal of the day for her, her husband, and her seven children.

When we feel hungry and thirsty, I feel very helpless and I wonder “How am I going to live like this?” , as you say.

As parents, we need to make things go together in some way, says Abdul.

Regardless of whether we need to beg, borrow or steal. We don’t have a choice.