How day laborers are bearing the brunt of West Asia conflict

The rising cost of LPG cylinders and daily commodities has had a devastating impact on the lives of gig workers, small eateries, self-employed and truck drivers. Some have changed their lifestyle, while others have revamped their dietary requirements.

HT visited different sections of daily wage workers to find out how they are coping with limited income and rising expenses – for example, while the price of vada pav and a small cup of tea has not increased, the ingredients used to make them have become costlier, hurting the pockets of vendors.

This is a far cry from restaurants that have recently increased food prices by 15% to 20%.

Sociologist and Director-in-charge Professor B. School of International Relations and Strategic Studies, University of Mumbai.

‘I have to return to my village, start farming’

Name: Ajay Rai, 42

Occupation: Truck Driver

For Ajay Rai, a 42-year-old truck driver from Uttar Pradesh, the road that once promised stability has now turned to uncertainty and despair due to the recession caused by the West Asia crisis.

After driving for more than two decades, he is preparing to return home, feeling defeated by dwindling work and rising expenses.

Rai has been driving trucks since 2000. At the age of 18, he moved from his village to Kushinagar to escape the insecurity caused by intermittent earnings and failure in high school exams. Attracted by the promise of steady employment in the trucking business, he first reached Daman and later Mumbai.

“When I started driving, I had barely grown a moustache,” Rai recalled while speaking to HT on the Nashik Highway.

Rai has been living inside a truck employed by Parth Cargo for the last two years. The company delivers bulk consignments from Nhava Sheva to Wadpe and Bhiwandi. Now, with reduced freight traffic, drivers are left with little work. “Managers tell us business is down,” Rai said.

By paying per trip he earns approx. ₹Rs 2,500 for each journey. “Till recently, I used to complete five to six trips a week, earning around ₹50,000 per month. Now, the assignments have reduced to just one weekly trip, leaving my monthly income at approx. ₹10,000,” he said.

With declining income, Rai who used to eat vegetarian thali now survives on vada pav and bhaji pav.

The financial blow has also affected his family, which also includes monthly fees of around Rs 200. ₹Rs 13,000 for his daughter’s college and son’s school. “I used to send here and there ₹Rs 35,000 every month. But I did not send any money home last month nor will I be able to send it this month,” Rai said.

On the other hand, life on the highways is also not without risks. Last week, eight liters of diesel was taken out of his truck while he was sleeping, causing him to suffer a loss.

After years of tireless work, Rai has decided to stop. He said, “I will deliver my last consignment tomorrow and go home. It has become unbearable to stay here. I will return to my village and work on my agricultural land, which will keep me alive and ensure two meals a day for my family.”

‘Despite the extreme heat, I can’t buy water’

Ganesh Chaugle, 26

Gig worker/food delivery app worker

At 4 a.m., when most of the city is asleep, 26-year-old Ganesh Chaugle walks wearily through the dimly lit streets of Thane to Kalwa. Since last month, the gig worker has been working almost 14 hours a day, with his shifts starting in the afternoon and continuing till the early hours of the morning. “There is hardly any time to relax,” Chowgle told HT while placing an order near Jambli Naka in Thane.

The recession caused by the LPG crisis has reduced the speed of delivery, halving their earnings. “Earlier we used to deliver an order every 10 minutes. Now it takes 20 minutes because many places have shifted to electric induction,” he said.

Their income has been deeply affected. Until recently, Chaugal earned between ₹40,000 more ₹45,000 per month. Today that figure has fallen to close to ₹30,000, of which 15-20% is spent on petrol, maintenance and other work-related expenses. “My income is the backbone of my household,” he said.

Chaugle’s mother works as a domestic help and earns ₹15,000 per month, while the family is struggling with rent, monthly bills and pending EMIs. His sister, a class 10 student, needed a mobile phone for her studies, which increased her financial burden.

“The worst thing is that my mother thinks I’m not responsible towards the house. How do I explain that there’s a hole in my pocket because of the war thousands of miles away?” said the final year commerce student at Patel College, Kalyan.

To save money, he often skips dinner and survives on cheap street food like samosa, sev and bhel.

The harsh realities of gig work have compounded his crisis. “Between 12 noon and 3 pm, we cannot take a break. Yesterday, when I stopped for a while to use the toilet, I felt encouraged ₹Rs 332 were waived off after completing 27 deliveries. This means I have to pay for petrol from my own pocket,” Chougalle said.

He further added, “Besides, water consumption has also increased due to the heat. If I buy two bottles costing ₹20 each, the amount earned from one delivery has been exhausted. I’ve started calculating everything this way.

‘My daily sales have been affected since the price increase’

Name: Umesh Gowda, 38

Occupation: Food Vendor, Andheri East

Umesh Gowda, 38, is one of the many faces in the crowd of street food vendors who serve Mumbai’s working population through breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. Gowda earns his living by selling omelettes, bhurji and boiled eggs in Andheri East.

Originally from Bengaluru, he moved to Mumbai a decade ago to make it big in the country’s financial capital. But his aspirations were dashed when his partnership at a restaurant collapsed within three months due to the pandemic.

He started an Anda-Bhurji stall on Andheri-Kurla Road, the hub of corporate houses. Everything was going well until the West Asian conflict had a domino effect on the country’s economic condition.

“The prices of all the ingredients and other materials required for my daily business have increased in the last few months. LPG has become expensive, the price of vegetables and eggs has increased. My margins are decreasing,” Gowda said. “

“For example, the price of a sachet of 900 ml cooking oil is between ₹115 more ₹118 available now ₹146 – ₹150. The cost of packaging materials like spoons, plates, carry bags, butter paper etc. has also increased by 80%. All this has put pressure on my daily income,” he said. He needs about 10 LPG cylinders ₹1000, per month, but was forced to cut down on usage due to unavailability. He has kept a diesel stove as a backup.

To keep itself afloat, Gowda had to increase the price of its food by 25%. Till a month ago one omelette-pav was sold ₹20, now it is ₹25.

This has also affected their daily sales. “My sales have dropped significantly. Earlier, I used to sell around 600 eggs a day, now it is between 400-450 eggs,” he said.

He operates the stall five and a half days a week. In the second half of Saturday, he restocks for his business. While Sundays are for the family, with rising costs and declining profits, he goes out less with his wife and six-year-old daughter.

Despite the adversity, they have now focused their attention on their child’s future. “I want to make plans for her to shape her future,” Gowda said. “Life hasn’t been what I thought it would be. But I’m in a much better place than many other people.”

‘Since I can’t afford to raise tea prices, I’m eating only dal and rice’

Name: Jayesh Pardhi, 25

Occupation: Tea seller

Twenty-five-year-old Jayesh Pardhi’s tea stall in Pratiksha Nagar, which is popular among taxi and auto drivers, is struggling to survive. It is a shop that he inherited from his father, who ran it for 40 years.

Pardhi requires three commercial LPG cylinders a month, each costing ₹2000.

He said, “I sell at least 150 cups of tea every day, but the increase in prices of raw materials like tea powder, sugar and ginger has affected my profits, as I have not yet increased the price of tea. I use both LPG stove and diesel stove.” “Since my earnings have been affected, I have cut down my expenses. Now I cook one meal like dal and rice, or sometimes roti.”

The price of a small cup of tea at their stall is ₹5 and a cutting tea ₹10. “I recently lost my house which has gone into redevelopment, and so I have rented a space opposite my stall ₹Rs 50 per night for sleeping. This helps me save house rent, and I am able to send 60% of my monthly income, which is approximately ₹from 16,000 ₹“My wife and two children who live in Rajasthan will get Rs 18,000,” he said.

When asked why he did not increase the price of tea, he said, “If I do, I will lose all my customers. I will increase the price of tea when other sellers do so.”

‘We cook what we can’t sell’

Sugandha Thakur 65

Occupation: Vegetable seller

At 65, Sugandha Thakur runs her small vegetable shop in Thane’s Jambhali Naka, and depends on daily sales of leafy vegetables to support her family of four.

She says, “I am selling leafy vegetables for my livelihood. Earlier, I used to cook a variety of dishes, but now we are dependent on unsold vegetables as both produce and LPG have become expensive.”

Despite a slight decline in income, Thakur says his family of four makes do by cutting costs and supporting each other. Living in their own home in Kasar Vadawali helps them earn a living.

“We plan our expenses based on our income and try to be happy,” she adds.