UNLIGHTED SIDE OF RICKSHAW PULLERS.

Here is a photo of a Rickshaw puller from the street of Tezpur Assam.

Few days before i was roaming in and around the market area of Tezpur and i could see few Rickshaw pullers. I tried to talk to one of them.His name was Ali.I don`t remember the full name though i could remember only this. I asked him about his daily earnings from his Rickshaw.During the discussion i came to know that his rickshaw wasn't his own but a rented one, for which he has to pay a big share of his daily earnings to the actual owner. He also told me about his family.He had a daughter. He told me that whatever he saves he spends on buying new books for her daughter. While hearing his story, i was speechless.

Now the technology has reached new heights and there are many E-rickshaws in the roads of Tezpur making the life of this people pathetic. For some customers they get in a day...maybe the one old age people who understand there labour and pay them whatever they ask for according to rates.They are not even allowed to go inside the main town area.When i asked him about this,he said ''Policemen are a nuisance. They shoo us away, saying we cause traffic jams, but they never send away the big cars. How are we going to get passengers if we don’t stop and wait for them?

I felt prompted to ask a little more about the man. I told him he did not need to work in this condition and age. Saab , if I was not to do this work, my wife,daughter and I would starve." I stood stunned. Stung and furious at what he said. I was also wondering about my own helplessness to do something about the man's si
tuation. I tried to pacify the man and left the place.

There are many Rickshaw pullers like ALI.Each one of them has a story to tell.

The whole episode forced me to think whether it is right for us to bargain with these poor guys who are not earning to convert their make bunglows or big big houses. They are just working hard for their existence. They are trying to save few pennies so that they can buy some books for their kids. While the people who sit in the rickshaw are always covered under a shade, these guys are directly exposed to the hot sun rays, these guys don't have an accelerator to speed up but have to pedal hard and pedal non-stop to keep their rickshaw moving. They kind of turn their blood into sweat and after working so hard throughout the day, still they don't earn or save too much.

On our behalf we really need to understand the situation and react.If the current situation prevails,the day is not far away when there will be no rickshaw pullers in the street of Tezpur city.

PS-Need some suggestions from you all steemians as to what can be done on our behalf.

Thank you.