“Both my husband and I were teachers and just before the pandemic began, I lost my job. I did get a new one but before classes started, the pandemic caused the lockdown. My husband was the only earning member of the family and he earned Rs 20,000 per month. Our rent was Rs 13,000 which meant that more than half of my husband’s earnings went towards our rent. We had to manage our house with the remaining Rs 7000,” says Sanjana (name changed) who used to work as a primary school teacher in Bengaluru. Like Sanjana, many people across the city are facing financial issues since the pandemic began, leading to difficulty in paying rent. Several people TNM spoke to, reported extreme financial distress during the lockdown, which caused them to burn through all their savings for a roof over their heads.
“It was very difficult as I only started getting my salary about five months after the lockdown began. From March to July 2020, my husband was also not paid any salary for a month as the schools were still figuring out how to go about conducting classes. Even when I started getting my salary, it was only half the amount. Though we faced such financial difficulty, the house owner didn't give us a reduction in rent,” Sanjana adds.
By the time the second wave hit, Sanjana said that her family had nearly burnt through their savings, adding, “During the second wave too, we incurred a lot of expenditure as my in-laws were infected with COVID-19 and my father in-law became critical and needed oxygen. Even after our best efforts, he didn't survive.” With less income, added expenses and no reduction in rent, Sanjana said that her family also had to pledge all the gold they had and borrow money from relatives to pay rent.
For people belonging to economically weaker sections of society, the situation was worse and in certain cases, resulted in them being evicted from their homes. Malamma (name changed), a resident of Goraguntepalya in Bengaluru, was one among many who got evicted. Malamma’s husband is a daily wage construction worker and before the pandemic began, she used to sell fritters out of a push cart. Malamma and her husband have to work daily in order to sustain themselves. The loss of income due to the pandemic and ensuing lockdown, has disrupted their normal lives.
“My husband is a construction worker, and I used to have a fritter push cart. During the first and second lockdowns, my husband and I both couldn’t work. We are dependent on this for our daily food and it has become very difficult. We have four daughters.” she said. Unable to afford the fees of private schools, Malamma shifted one of her daughters to a government school. “However, the school is now demanding us to pay the remaining fees for my daughter to get a transfer certificate. This is the condition we are in now,” says Malamma.
Speaking about the difficulty they faced to pay rent, she says, “Paying rent in the midst of all this was extremely difficult. The house we lived in had a rent of Rs 4,500 and we had paid the owner an advance of Rs 20,000. We weren't able to pay the rent regularly and the owner started withholding the payment deficit from our advance. Finally in July 2021, he asked us to vacate, as all the advance we had paid was over.” Though they managed to find a new place where they aren’t facing as much pressure to pay an advance, Malamma says, “I honestly don't know how I’ll be able to get money for rent and my daughters’ education. I don't even have enough money to restart my fritter shop.”
When asked if they had received any help from the government, Malamma said that they had received a ration kit and her husband had received Rs 3,000 as part of a relief package announced by the government. Malamma says that the ration kit didn’t last even for a week and they also couldn’t benefit from the Rs 3,000 as it was taken by the bank directly from their account, to pay for a loan they had taken earlier.
Nagesh, who used to be a cab driver in Bengaluru, had bought a new car before the pandemic struck. He had paid Rs 2.5 lakh and taken a loan at a private finance company to pay the remaining amount. However, due to lack of business, he wasn’t able to pay the Equated Monthly Instalment (EMI) for the loan and his car has been taken away by the finance company.
“Since the first lockdown, it has only gone downhill. There was not a lot of business and just as things seemed to be getting better, the second lockdown happened this year. I had requested the finance company to give me more time, but the second lockdown was the final blow and my car was taken back. I’ve even stopped thinking that I had a car and I’ve given up all hope that I might get it somehow,” he says.
Due to the financial crisis, Nagesh could no longer pay the rent on his house, which left his family shattered. “With no money, I couldn't pay the rent on my house. Currently, I've sent my wife to her relative’s place and my mother to my brother’s place. All the advance I had paid for the house has been forfeited and the owner is threatening that if I don't vacate the house, he will empty it out. I don't have any money to give the owner. I'm staying at a friend’s room for now.”
Nagesh is currently working as a food delivery person for a hotel in Bengaluru. “My daughter has passed her Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exam now but because I don't have money to pay the school, I don't know how I'll be able to get her marks card. I don't know how I'll be able to provide her with any more education,” he laments.
He adds that he hasn’t received any money from the government relief package. “The government says they are giving money to cab drivers. Some have received Rs 3000 and some haven’t. I haven’t received a single paisa. We have to upload so many documents on the Seva Sindhu website for us to get the money and when we try to upload, it doesn’t accept many of them.”