Graduates Work As Drain Cleaners Near Mumbai As Pandemic Shrinks Employment

Due to the lack of employment as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, some young men with college degrees have been compelled to work as "nullah" (drain) cleaners in the Mumbra region near Thane.

A group of 20 men from Diva, employed by a private contractor to clean the nullah, includes a few well-educated men. Every year, it is done to prevent flooding during the monsoon season. The educated men aren't ashamed of their work. One of them stated that no job is beneath them and that they must support their families.

"One should not look down upon any work. After all, we have to survive and support the family. What if we are postgraduates or double graduates? Our degrees are not going to help us at present," said another man.

According to one of them, this job will last for a couple of weeks, and then they will have to look for another source of income.

During the pandemic, some of them lost their white-collar jobs. Sameer, who claims to be a double graduate, has been with the contractor for three months, reported NDTV.

Another employee, Anil, said that he was an IT engineer. They needed income, so one of them approached an agent of a civic contractor who was doing pre-monsoon work a few weeks earlier and showed interest in joining his team of labourers.

The employer of the Mumbra ward where the work is being done expressed sympathy for them as they had lost their regular jobs. To save the transportation costs, they walk to work every day from Diva to Mumbra, covering a distance of over 10 kilometres.

"I salute them for their work," she added.

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