Guwahati: This is the sad, ugly side of COVID lockdown. Suraj Sharma, a youth from Haflong, Assam was working at the Guwahati outlet of the popular restaurant chain BBQ Nation. Due to COVID curbs, the management of the restaurant asked him to leave as they no longer needed too many staff to run the restaurant. (Currently, dine-in in Guwahati is allowed for very few hours during the day). No money, no place to go, Suraj has been living on the footpath.
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"The management has asked me to collect my salary of Rs 7000 on Jun 10th. Because of restrictions on inter-district movement, I could not go home. I lost my PAN card and all my money. That is why I am living on the footpath," Suraj said.
The helpless youth has been sleeping and eating under the bridge in Lachit Nagar area of Guwahati.
Netizens have reacted sharply after seeing the plight of Suraj. Most people have condemned the restaurant owner and management for being inconsiderate and acting in a very inhuman manner.
Suraj is just one such case that is facing hardship because of the COVID restrictions. His has come to light but there must be many more youths across the state or the country who must be going through a state like that of Suraj.
According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data, almost 70 lakh jobs were lost in April alone. The unemployment rate in April this year shot up to 8 per cent from 6.5 per cent in March. April saw the maximum number of job losses in the last four months.
During the second wave of COVID, the return of migrant workers has not been as dramatic and significant as last time but the job loss situation has been equally bad or even worse in certain parts of the country. Many of the migrant workers who had returned home last time had not gone back. Most of them continue to be without employment or a livelihood.
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