Domestic helpers stay home amid tension

GURGAON: Domestic and housekeeping staffers belonging to the minority community have stayed put at their homes for the past two days amid communal tension in the city after Vishwa Hindu Parishad reiterated that it would go ahead with the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh on Monday.
Shops owned or run by those from the community too remained closed in Sohna and Badshapur.
Most of them work as cooks, cleaners, tailors and mechanics and are living in areas like sectors 69, 70, 57 and 72, and Badshapur.
A slum in Sector 70 wore a deserted look when TOI visited it on Monday, with most choosing to stay indoors.
A local said many have fled the city, while those who have stayed back are afraid to step out, fearing a repeat of the violence that took place in Nuh on July 31.
Pyaari (name changed), said she went to work on Monday, but only because she needed the money. “I leave my four children at home unattended as my husband is bedridden. We had fled to our hometown in Muzaffarpur earlier this month, but returned after we thought things had become normal. I went to work only out of necessity, as if I don’t go, there is nobody to help us,” she said.
Pyaari earns Rs 10,000 a month and is the sole breadwinner of her family. She pays a rent of around Rs 2,500 for her tiny shanty, she said, adding that it would be a huge help if the government provided them with secure housing facilities. “What people rarely understand is that amidst all this, the poor are the worst affected,” Pyaari said.
A resident of a highrise society in Sector 69 said more than 60% of housekeeping staff belonging to the community have not reported to work since Sunday.
“Most of the domestic staff here are migrant workers who live in shanties next to highrises, their jobs providing them their only chance of affording two meals a day. We are facing inconvenience, especially senior citizens, but we just want our staff to be safe,” he added.