COVID-19 Fallout: English Teacher Turns Into Daily Wager

Representational photograph.

Kerala: COVID-19 has shattered the lives of many people across the country. Many have lost their jobs, while others have been forced to shut down their business.

In Vadakara of district Kozhikode here, a teacher has been left with no other choice but to become a daily wager to feed his family.

According to national media reports, 55-year-old Paleli Nithal Babu has been teaching English in a school for the past 30 years. But the school is closed now and he is not getting any salary. So he has picked up the mortar-filled pan and shovel to eke out a living at construction sites.

“I have a family, it’s my duty to feed them,” he said. “At the moment, everything is shut, so there is no pay. So I work as a labourer and feed my family. I toil hard from 7 am to 3 pm daily as per my contractor’s direction fetching ₹750 per day. But sadly, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find work on a daily basis. I don’t know how to repay my bank loan,” he lamented.