Rickshaw-pullers in Guwahati: Their plight

Dr. Dharmakanta Kumbhakar

(The writer can be reached at drkdharmakanta@yahoo.com)

Cycle rickshaw-pullers are quite familiar in Guwahati. They earn their livelihood after obtaining licence from the authority concerned. They stand and wait outside railway stations and bus stands, near markets, hospitals, malls and road intersections of the city for passengers. They play an important role in the total communication of Guwahati by providing the cheapest mode of intra-city transport. They carry passengers to areas that are inaccessible for other means of transport due to narrow or bad lanes and bylanes. The neighbourhood cycle rickshaw-pullers often provide door-to-door transport services for school-children. In crowded markets, they serve as a convenient mode of transport in vferrying goods to nearby areas.

The cycle-rickshaw becomes an important mode of transport during the artificial floods in Guwahati. Cycle rickshaw-pullers carry passengers in all kinds of weather. They pull the cycle rickshaw in scorching sun, at chilly wintry nights and even in heavy rains. They themselves drench in rain but carries passengers and goods safely.

Most of the cycle rickshaw-pullers of Guwahati are jobless young people in the age group of 21 to 40 years, who have migrated from the rural areas of Assam. Only a few of them are below the age of 20 years and above 40 years of age. The main cause for their migration to Guwahati is poverty. They take up this profession as they are unable to manage other jobs due to lack of skill and education. Most of them are illiterate while only a few are able to get primary, middle or secondary level of education. Some of them are seasonal migrants. They have their own agricultural land where they grow crops during agricultural season and become cycle rickshaw-pullers during non-agricultural season.

They ply cycle rickshaw on daily basis and earn good amount. Their average monthly income is not bad compared to many other monthly earners in industry and other informal/unorganized sectors. Some of them posses their own cycle rickshaw, while many hire them from others. Today, most of the cycle rickshaw-pullers in Guwahati have to find an alternative employment as 90 per cent of their business has gone to e-rickshaws.

The life of the cycle rickshaw-pullers who ply hired cycle rickshaws in Guwahati is very tough and full of suffering. Though they earn well on a daily basis, they have little money left in hand as they have to give away a fixed amount of their income to the owner of the rickshaw everyday. They have to pay the fixed amount even when they earn nothing during the day.

They toil hard for the whole day without rest. The hard work done by they do not match the money they get for it. Sometimes, they have to pull the cycle rickshaw even while they are not well as they have to earn bread for their families.

Sometimes they are cheated by some passengers, too. These passengers are not ready to pay them a reasonable fare, argue with them and try to pay them less taking undue advantage of their weak social position. The city traffic police also frequently harass them puncturing cycle rickshaw tires and beating them for money. The irregular and inadequate earning makes them very poor. They are always poorly dressed; they wear torn clothes and stay barefooted. During the winter they do not have enough clothes to protect them against cold. They have neither proper food to eat nor a good place to live. They live in temporary shelters with subhuman living conditions, burdened with paying the rent for the cycle rickshaw as well as for their own accommodation. Often, they spend their nights on platforms, pavements or in parks and garages. Sometimes they curl themselves up in their vehicles to sleep.

Most of them use the roadsides or railway lines for responding to nature's call. They collect water mostly from municipality pipes. The continuous plying of cycle rickshaw without proper rest, poor living conditions and lack of access to nutritious food, sanitation, proper shelter and medical care makes them prone to various diseases. They have no enough money to spend on their family. Their family members too remain in poverty and become vulnerable to illnesses. They are unable to pay for their medical treatment and education of their children. It is pathetic that most cycle rickshaw-pullers have to depend on their children in old age as they do not have anything left for saving.

Though some cycle rickshaw-pullers are honest and charge reasonably from passengers, but most of them are dishonest. They are not fair in their dealings. They try to take undue advantage of the ignorance or innocence of the passengers. They especially cheat people who are not familiar with the local system of Guwahati. They charge more during the rough weather and big festivals. At times they have to pay the price for their unfair dealings. They get slapped or scolded either by the police or by people for their bad behaviour. The majority of them have been found to spend money on bad habits such as drinking alcohol, chewing guthka, using drugs, enjoying dirty films and visiting prostitutes, which make them poor in spite of their good income. Substance abuse is affecting some cycle rickshaw-pullers in Guwahati. They have much higher risk of HIV-infection due to their bad habits.

These days, cycle rickshaw-pullers in Guwahati are also committing many crimes. A small section of them are engaged in activities like stealing, picking pockets, drug-peddling and robbery.

Yet, the cycle rickshaw-pullers of the city form an important class of society. The city needs to be kind to them. The city authority must provide them permanent stands, free medical support in case of accidents and illnesses, night shelters, police protection, insurance coverage and education to their children as they collect money for licensing and numbering the vehicle every month. The government should provide them bank loans, subsidies and the benefits under welfare schemes. Unless they raise their voice for their own right, one cannot think a single inch of development among these people. A strong cycle rickshaw union is also required in Guwahati, so that they can raise their voices for their rights.