They are daily wage, migrant labourers, who come to Chandni Chowk’s labour market everyday at 7 am. You’ll find them sitting there throughout the day till 4 in the evening—patiently waiting for anyone who might be in need for their services.
Apart from Chowri Bazar, there are numerous such “labor chowks” in Delhi. Most of them are migrants from states like UP, Bihar and West Bengal.
Labor Chowks can basically be explained as informal labor hubs or hotspots in the city, where semi-skilled laborer'slike carpenters, construction workers and painters gather to find a day’s work.
If these labourers don’t find work by
11.00 am, then their prospects of finding work for the rest of the day diminish.
Along with the ticking clock, the remuneration also drops by the hour. If a male labourer is hired before 10 am they get paid Rs. 400 for the entire day and female labourer gets paid approximately Rs. 300 for the day.
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Like Muzammil, every year thousands of people from different states and small villages come to Delhi as laborers but struggle to find five days of work in a week.
Ramesh Jatav (44) is another migrant labourer who came to Delhi almost 10 years ago from a small village in Behraich district of U.P. Finding it extremely difficult to find work, Ramesh says he is contemplating to go back to his hometown.
According to the economic survey of 2017, Delhi is the largest recipient of migrants. However, according to a report by the All India Manufacturer’s Organisation (AIMO), there has been a reported 60% job loss with a 47% dip in revenue in the sector of small-scale traders, shops and micro industries as of December 2016
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The shutting down of these small scale industries has directly affected the daily wages of these migrant labourers.
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Photo Credits: Intifada P.B.