I just spoke to workers in Udyog Vihar. 2
Now I want to talk to people in Chakarpur. 3
So you drive an autorickshaw? - Yes. 4
How long have you been living in Gurgaon? 5
It is now 10 years. 6
What was the situation 10 year ago? 7
The conditions were better 10 years ago, but now they are very bad. 8
Why? 9
Because the numbers of people have increased a lot. 10
The work we used to do for Rs 2000, now people are doing for Rs 1000. 11
So it is bad. 12
Because many people drive the autorickshaw, so you earn less. 13
Yes. We earn less and there is not enough money. 14
And the rent is high these days? - Yes 15
Where do these new people come from? From West Bengal or other states? 16
West Bengal, Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh... 17
There are people from everywhere. They are from Bihar, MP - everywhere. 18
Normally people who do not have their own autorickshaw lease them on rent? 19
Yes. 20
What does the lease cost? 21
Rs. 1000 per month. 22
How much can you earn in a month? 23
We earn Rs. 4000 - 4500. 24
From Rs. 4500, 1000 gets taken away for the lease? 25
Yes. 26
So Rs. 3500 are left. - Yes. 27
We pay Rs. 1.000 for the rent of our shacks. 28
How much? - Rs. 1.000. 29
Normally, how many people live in one shack? 30
Two or three. 31
The shack costs Rs. 1000, but you can also get a room in Rs. 1000. 32
But it is difficult? 33
It is difficult because there we have to cook on gas fire. 34
We cook on wood fire. 35
For gas we need a cylinder. 36
We don't get a cylinder because you need a ration card. 37
Also, they don't give you any place to put the auto rickshaw. 38
This is why we live in shacks. 39
Is there any tension between people who drive a rickshaw? 40
Is there any tension between the old and new people? 41
Some tension goes on. For example you come, I say "Rs. 50 for the fare" 42
another will come and say, "Rs. 20" 43
So how should it work? There will be tension. 44
When the fare is Rs. 50, why should we take Rs. 20? 45
Perhaps you could agree on a price per kilometer. 46
This is the advice of Newtam Bhugtan. 47
Do you talk about this possibility? 48
No, we don't talk about this. 49
Because we don not have a rickshaw union here. 50
So nobody talky about this. 51
So if we do not get Rs 20 per kilometer, it is no use. 52
Are you from West Bengal? 53
We are from Bihar. 54
Is there any problem between you and the local people? 55
With the landlord? 56
Somebody died. 57
People from West Bengal also have problems with the police? 58
If somebody dies here, the villagers cannot do anything. 59
If they have saved some money, the dead body can be taken home. 60
Otherwise the body will be buried here. 61
There is no chance to take it home. 62
For a poor worker, where will the money come from to take them home? 63
So this is the problem. 64
Sometimes the police make raids. 65
They say "this is an illegal immigrant", 66
but they are just ordinary workers. 67
Do you have any experience of being bothered by the police? 68
The trouble we have with the police 69
is that we park our vehicles everywhere on the road. 70
The police does not let us park on the road. 71
If we park in front of a mall, the guards complain 72
and the police beat us with batons. We have to bear this. 73
Why did you decide to become an autorickshaw driver? 74
Why do you not try to get a job in a factory? 75
You could get a job. 76
We can get a job. We don't worry about that. 77
But what can you earn in a job - Rs 2000 to 3000, maybe Rs 3.500. 78
But nobody gets more than that. How can with survive with that? 79
Rs 1000 we have to give as rent, and then food - how can we survive? 80
In the factory one works for 12 hours. 81
How long do you drive the autorickshaw? 82
About 10 hours. 83
So it is less than working in a factory? 84
Yes. 85
And in the factory there is an owner and a supervisor. 86
You have no supervisor? 87
No, we have no supervisor. We work when we want to. 88
But there must be tension if you get no passengers? 89
Yes, no passengers, no work. 90
You have been living here for 10 years and have seen a lot of changes. 91
What will the situation in Gurgaon be in the next two years? 92
When I first came to Gurgaon, there was nothing here. 93
There were not such big houses, not so many houses, not so much rent. 94
We paid Rs. 200, 300 or maximum Rs 500 for rent. 95
Landlords used to beg us to take the house on rent 96
and were ready to do everything for the tenant. 97
Now, when I want to rent, people say they have no room, 98
even when they do have empty houses to rent. 99
Because we cannot pay them the rent they want. 100
We can pay Rs. 1000 - 1200. But Rs 2000 - 4000 how can we pay? 101
Before the rent was only Rs 200 - 300 and we lived wherever we liked. 102
What will it be like in two years in the future? 103
How will it be? 104
Don't you know? You have so much experience from the last 10 years? 105
I think it will become worse in the future. The situation is so bad now. 106
In 2-3 years it will be completely bad. People will be forced to starve. 107
The rice we used to eat for Rs.10 a kilo, we eat today for Rs. 25 a kilo. 108
After 2 years it will be Rs. 30 or 40 for a kilo. 109
Our autorickshaw fares are not going up. 110
So if we will not starve, what else will we do? 111
What can we do about it? 112
Nothing. We cannot go to the police. 113
If we complain to the government, they do not listen to us. 114
If we, 10 or 100 autorickshaws, jam the road, 115
and ask the public to increase our fares, the police will come and beat us up, 116
because we do not have a union. 117
If there were a union, if even two autorickshaws block the road, 118
no car will pass them. 119
As we do not have a union, we cannot do anything. 120
How can we make a union? 121
Suppose you are the representative from here. 122
You could tell all autorickshaw drivers to pay Rs 500 or Rs 200 per month. 123
All autorickshaw drivers in Gurgaon would then 124
deposit Rs. 100 or Rs 200 per month with you, and get a certificate, 125
with the fare for each area on it. 126
So if the police bother you, you show this certificate. 127
If they still don't listen, you leave the vehicle there 128
and ask the union to intervene. 129
This is how it is in Bihar? 130
There is a union in Bihar, also in Bengal, but not in Haryana. 131
Delhi has a union. 132
But why is there no union in Haryana? 133
Because the locals here - some are crooks some are honest. 134
Some use the autorickshaw and don't even pay. 135
Other pay you Rs 20 instead of Rs.10. 136
That is why it is not possible to make a union. This is the problem. 137
Perhaps we can start something there. 138
Certainly. Just as when we give statements on the news, 139
which is then shown on TV to make the public see 140
that it is hard for the autorickshaw drivers. 141
So where the fare is Rs 15 they could give Rs.20. 142
Because we stand in so much heat from the sun. 143
But they don't think and give us only enough money to meet our costs. 144
Thank you. 145
Where do you get drinking water from? 146
We use the motor for water. 147
When there is electricity we get water, otherwise not. 148
How many hours a day? 149
We get water in the mornings and evenings. 150
How many people live here? 151
At least 500. 152
So there is one tap for 500 people and the water comes in the tap for one hour. 153
Is water delivered by a tanker? 154
No. When there is no light, we bring it from somewhere else to drink. 155
The tankers do not bring water. 156
We go to this house or that house to get water. 157
Sometimes there is no water for 3 days or for 5 days. 158
We have to ask others for water to drink. 159
It is difficult. We pay the rent but get no water. 160
We are in a strange place, this is not our home. 161
You do not get water here and you could even die. 162
There is one owner of all this? - Yes. 163
How was it working in the village? 164
In the village I got Rs. 50 for working. 165
Here when I work I get Rs 150 or even Rs 200. 166
I get paid according to the work. 167
Do you work in a household - making food, washing clothes? 168
I do all kinds of work - cooking, washing clothes, cleaning dishes. 169
Domestic work - is it easier in the village or here? 170
It is easier here. I had difficulties in the village. Here not. 171
There were money problems. 172
Children's education needs money everything needs money. 173
Here too you need money, but you can work so it is not difficult. 174
But in the village you can sit together with other women, 175
and work with them. 176
Here women go to work. 177
In the village, women do not go to work. Only men work. 178
No women go out to work. 179
How can you survive on one man's salary? 180
I meant paid domestic work? 181
Nobody pays you for domestic work. It is household work. 182
But it is difficult to get water here. In the village, there is no water problem. 183
No in the village, there is not so much problem with water. 184
Here it is difficult. 185
And you have more space in the village? - Yes. 186
There is a lake and a river in the village. You get water everywhere. 187
How long have you been living in this house? 188
7-8 years. 189
What is your greatest problem after coming here? 190
There is no big problem. 191
This is not our place. It belongs to somebody else. 192
This is a problem. 193
If this place was ours we would have no problem. 194
We give money and live here. 195
They can throw us out whenever they please. We have no power in this. 196
What is your job? 197
We work in maintainance. 198
What does that mean? 199
We paint buildings, and where the plaster falls down, we repair it. 200
How many people work there? 201
There are only 5-6 people in my department. 202
But there are more in other parts. 203
Is it an office or a house? Do people live there? 204
How much do you earn at Dlf? 205
Rs 3200. The contractor gives us only this. 206
How do you manage? 207
We have to manage. 208
Do you live here? 209
Yes. 210
With family or friends? 211
Family. 212
Would you like to say anthing? 213
Only that I hope I can get a flat to live in. 214
Thank you. 215
It is very strange that DLF makes such great houses 216
and the people who work hard to make these houses live in these shacks. 217
The world is mad. 218
We cannot pay the rent for DLF flats 219
We don't earn so much. 220
We cannot pay more than Rs. 1500 rent. 221
We are not that educated. 222
But Gurgaon has these big malls. 223
But they are not for us 224
We can earn a maximum of Rs. 4.000.