Farmers Movement Archive

No relief: Pay rent or leave, landlords tell migrant workers

Tribune News ServiceJalandhar, May 18Even as the state government had in the past directed that rent should not be charged from poor workers and migrant labourers staying in rented accommodation amid the pandemic, migrants workers in the city rued that they were being pressured by their landlords to either pay the rent or leave the accommodation.With unsettled dues, some migrants could not even return to their native places and eventually chose to sell fruits and vegetables.Pankaj Yadav, a native of Uttar Pradesh (UP), said, initially his landlord did not ask for rent but after two months, now he was pressured to vacate his one-room with kitchen accommodation. Yadav, who works as a fruit vendor, said: “I have been residing here with my family at Nagra village for the past one year and now due to poor financial condition, I can’t afford to shift to another room.”There are many other migrant workers who are stranded in the city without any means of sustenance and have similar tales to narrate. Lakhan Kumar, a freight loader, who wants to go back to UP, said as he was running short of money and had to share rent of his accommodation with his friends Gujja Peer road, he made up his mind to live on a road.Labourers from Jammu and Kashmir, who are working at the Maqsudan Sabzi Mandi, said: “Though they were not asked to pay the rent in April as the lockdown was extended, now their house owners started demanding rent and we have been told to deposit the rent by June 1.”Vimal, a fruit and vegetable vendor, said his landlord at Pulia Colony, near DAV College, did not even gave any concession in the rent, instead he asked to clear the dues in advance.“To make ends meet, I have now started selling fruits and vegetables,” said Vimal, who earlier used to work as a construction labourer.No concession in rentVimal, a fruit and vegetable vendor, said his landlord at Pulia Colony, near DAV College, did not even gave any concession in the rent, instead he asked to clear the dues in advance

The Tribune

2020-05-19