Hubballi: The Autorickshaw driver is a lot worried because Minister of Education B C Nagesh has said he will not hesitate to turn school again if the number of school children infected with Covid-19 guarantees such a step.
Automatic drivers have rejoiced when schools have started classes on campus after Deepavali.
For more than a year, many automated drivers have worked in other trade, such as selling vegetables or working as land workers, to meet needs.
For many of them, the opening of the school means that they can continue their regular work to drop children to campus and take them back home.
Shekharayya Mathapati, President of the Association of the owner of the autorickshaw Hubballi ‘and Drivers’, said the report that the school could be closed again had given us a night without sleeping anymore.
“Hubballi-Dharwad himself has around 30,000 autorickshaws and around 10,000 of them bring school children.” He added: “If we take Hubballi alone, we have around 17,000 autorickshaws and 6,000 school trips.
We struggled to return to normal life from almost two years.
Many autorickshaw drivers have become unemployed and live with a charity ration kit and work in the fields in the fields The village.
We began to feel free of tension in the hope of taking care of our family.
However, the statement of the Minister of Education again made us worry about our future.
“Mathapati had transported school children for 26 years.
“In the days of pre-covid, I used to bring around 70 students.
Now, it goes down to 30,” he said.
Fakiresh Kundagon, another authorickshaw driver in Unkal, said he worked in his agricultural field in Malali, Kundagol Taluk, after the ranking in 2020 began.
“Because of heavy rain and prematurely, we also suffered losses there.
Then, the increase in fuel prices is a burden.
We really don’t understand our future.
We don’t know other jobs.
At the other end, we have to pay bank installments , “he said.
Vinayak More, a driver of the Autorickshaw at the train station, said that he had to pay Rs Reas 500 per day for the autorickshaw.
“I barely get Rs 200 per day but a school trip has helped meet family needs.
We pray to the Almighty that the closing of the school and the kuncian did not occur,” he said.
Manjunath Jogi, van school driver, said he had two previous vans.
“We sold one vehicle last year and manage with one.
When parents are also under the financial crisis, we cannot climb automatic rates equivalent to the increase in fuel prices,” he said.
He said that the bank had provided a three-month loan moratorium but the school was closed for more than a year.