“I will vote for whoever can tackle inflation”
Raj Kumshikar, a sanitation worker in Dharavi, struggles with rising living costs and stagnant wages, while expressing skepticism about political promises.
Raj Kumshikar, 37, Sanitation worker
Residence: Dharavi
Constituency: Dharavi
Politics does not interest me much because I struggle to manage my day-to-day existence. My main concern has to do with the rising cost of everyday household items. Electricity bills have skyrocketed, gas is expensive, and the cost of cooking oil, vegetables, dal, rice has all increased. I will vote for whichever party promises to tackle this ‘mehengai.’
My wife tried to apply for the Ladki Bahin scheme, but was told her application will be processed only after elections. While I understand it is all an election tactic, the extra money will be helpful to us.
My trust has grown with the political party in my village in Karnataka. They have worked towards doing away with electricity bills for those consuming below 200 units and deposited ₹2,000 in every woman’s bank account. But in the end, I know that no party cares for the poor after the elections.
To take care of my family, including three school-going children, aged 15, 14 and 11, I work double shifts. In the mornings, I clean in Bamanwada and afternoons at a different place. I take one holiday a week on Sundays.
While prices for daily things are going up, there has been no increase in my salary as a sweeper and cleaner in the slums for decades. I work for the BMC under the Dattak Vasti or Swachh Mumbai Prabhodan Abhiyaan (SMPA), which enlists volunteers to carry out cleaning in the slums. The maximum I earn in a day is ₹600. We get paid between ₹200 to ₹300 per day for a six-hour shift from 8am to 2pm.
Earlier this year, the BMC had tried to scrap the SMPA program and employ workers on minimum wage to replace contract workers. But none of us, who have been working in this role for so long, were given any assurance that we would be chosen for that employment, and it meant we would be out of a job in the future. This program is being argued in court, but the situation remains the same and our salary is stagnant. Despite working for the BMC for decades, there is no push towards making our jobs permanent so we can have some job security. No party talks about these issues.
I have a home in Dharavi, where I have been living since childhood, so I don’t have to pay rent. But no natural wind or sun reaches my homes. Basic services like water and electricity are available, but still, it is very dirty to live in due to the gutter and irregular garbage collection.
The idea of redevelopment, of us getting the area we’ve been promised and in Dharavi itself, is a good thing as it will improve our living conditions. My house has been surveyed for the same and my documents are all in order.
As told to Sabah Virani
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