Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, September 6
Covid came like a bolt from the blue for Rinku (32), plant head at a Delhi-based electrical appliances manufacturing company, and his elder brother Rajesh (36), supervisor at the same plant, as they lost their jobs.
They are now selling vegetables and fruits to make ends meet. Their father Prem Singh, making a living by driving private vehicles before the lockdown, hardly got work since.
"I worked as head at one of the three plants of the company, where pump sets of air coolers were assembled, for five years. The company shut the plant in March-end during the lockdown, rendering over 70 employees jobless. The other two plants were closed later," said Rinku of Sri Nagar Colony.
"I had never thought that circumstances would force me to sell vegetables and fruits for arranging two square meals for my family. My brother and I contacted many companies and factories to get work, but to no avail," he said.
He maintained that initially, they planned to open a grocery shop, but shelved it as the investment required was beyond their budget. "Selling vegetables and fruits is the only business which can be started with less investment. We took a loan for Rs 40,000 from a relative for buying a 'rehri' attached to a motorcycle," said Rinku, a graduate.
"I sell vegetables and fruits on a 'rehri' attached to the motorcycle across the city. Another 'rehri' taken on a rent of Rs 800 per month has been set up outside the house, where my brother, mother and other family members sell vegetables," he said.
Rinku said there was no possibility of the plant getting reopened in the next five or six months. He claimed that a large number of employees working in private companies and factories in Rohtak had lost their jobs during the pandemic.
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