A resident from Birmitrapur, Neeraj Thakur, used to travel 30 km daily to Rourkela to work in a hair salon. His earning ranged from Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 per month of which, Rs 3,000 was spent for his traveling purposes.
The lockdown which is attempted to prevent the spread of coronavirus has kept him out of work for the last three days. With a family of six to support including two kids aged five and three and an ailing mother, Neeraj is worried as he has no personal savings and there is little hope of taking a loan to tide through the crisis.
He is worried about his family and the rations are going to be exhausted in the next two days. He also has the responsibility of arranging medicines for his ailing mother, which is a major concern for him.
Sanoj Thakur, the owner of the saloon where Neeraj works is also worried.
His saloon has been closed for three days and he is unsure whether he will be able to open it soon.
Laitu Lakra, a daily wage earner of the IDL area said he has been out of work for the last three days as the contractor for whom he worked has stopped all construction work after the lockdown.
Jatin Das, a cobbler, was forcibly asked to leave the place who worked on the footpath of the main road.
The daily workers of Panposh sub-division who travel to Rourkela daily in search of daily wage jobs were directly affected after the lockdown was announced. Around one lakh workers engaged in the unorganized sector hailing from in and around Rourkela city have lost their jobs.