‘I am not afraid of Covid, but finding a job’

LUCKNOW: Ravindra Pal Singh, a resident of Basti who boarded a train to home from New Delhi railway station last week, said, “I worked at a food processing plant in Bahadurgarh, Haryana. There was no work, so I decided to return home and help my family in the fields. If Covid-19 cases go down, I will return back.”

The 38-year-old has been working at industrial units in Delhi and Haryana since 2010. His last job paid him Rs 10,000 per month.

“In 2019, I earned Rs 18,000 every month, but the salary was cut after the lockdown last year,” said Singh.

Now at his village, Singh is helping his family to harvest the wheat crop.

Father of four children, Singh fears that the recent spike in Covid-19 cases can lead to another lockdown, which will have a direct impact on his earnings.

“It will be very difficult to get a job this time, if another lockdown is imposed. I don’t know how I will take care of my family in that case. I am not afraid of Covid-19, but worried about getting a job to support my family,” he said.