Air pollution: Closed schools throttle livelihood of Delhi’s hawkers

Delhi pollution: Shafique Alam, 32, works tirelessly to prepare another plate of Delhi’s local take on a burger, infused with Indian spices and flavours. Even though it’s only his fifth plate of the day, Alam knows he cannot afford to keep his customers waiting. Every sale counts, especially now when his livelihood is under severe threat.

This has become Alam’s daily struggle since the announcement mandating school closures due to rising pollution levels in the national capital. On November 20, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) revised its Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), making it mandatory for schools across Delhi-NCR to close until the air quality improves. The CAQM highlighted that during GRAP Stages 3 and 4, all schools must follow strict closure guidelines.

Previously, the decision to close schools was left to the jurisdiction of the state government itself, however, with the recent decision, schools across Gautam Buddha Nagar, Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, alongside Delhi will have to remain closed.

Plight of hawkers

However, neither the CAQM nor the CM’s office considered the plight of many hawkers who rely on schools staying open for their livelihood. Alam, who sits outside Naya Bazaar’s Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school, is one such hawker affected by the authorities’ apathy. All he can do is wait for someone to venture out of the school gates. For the past three days, he has been waiting for customers, but none have come.

“Earlier, I would easily earn around or over Rs 1,000 each day, but without students coming to school, sales have dried up significantly. The competition is also tough here because of other hawkers, so sustaining myself and my family has become increasingly difficult, and I think it will only get worse,” he said.

Based in the garment district of Old Delhi, Alam believes he still has it easier than others. “There aren’t many sales compared to before, but it’s enough to get by. Some of my customers are employees of nearby shops. If schools remain closed for longer, I will have to move my stall closer to the market area,” he said.

However, shifting his cart, which sells aloo tikkis and golgappas, is a last resort. According to him, shop owners are extremely strict about hawkers in front of their businesses. “They think we block the entrance to their shops, so they usually call the police on us hawkers to get us removed. Because of this, we have to keep moving, which leaves us with little time to actually earn,” he said.

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Struggles to support family

Alam has a family of five to support, including his wife and three children. “Two of my children are in primary school, while my youngest is around three years old. We stay in a rented room, so I don’t know how I’ll manage to pay the rent this time. We might end up on the street,” he said.

The situation is similar across other areas of Delhi. Many hawkers who depend on students operate outside government schools.

In East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, multiple hawkers near Phase 1’s MCD school are also facing the dire consequences of schools being closed.

Rajkumar Dedha, 36, rests with his arms wrapped around his cycle, a steel canister tied tightly to the carrier at the back. He constantly fights gravity to keep the canister from falling. With no customers in sight, he may have to return with his container filled with kachori-sabzi once again.

“I started coming later in the day ever since children stopped attending school. I was hoping to get business from the residents nearby, but they prefer going to the market because of where the school is located. There’s no reason for them to come this way,” he said.

Dedha, a father of two, supports his family with the help of his wife, who works as a house help in Mayur Vihar. “My sales are worse than ever. I barely make any money nowadays. If I’m lucky, I earn around Rs 200. Before, I used to earn enough to sustain my family and save some money, but now it’s all hand to mouth,” he said.

A resident of Kondli village, Dedha has lived in Delhi for the past two decades, having arrived from Rohtak in search of work. “I used to work as a contractual labourer handling the MCD’s electrical works, but the pandemic struck, and they let me go. I started working locally in my area during that time. Later, I began selling kachori after things reopened. I think I will need to find contractual work again, given the current situation,” he said.

Currently, his only source of income is from teachers and other staff who still come to the school, and the occasional passerby.

Others have taken up part-time jobs to make up for the lack of opportunities.

Adhar Kumar, 22, usually sits in front of the government school at Vasundhara Enclave with his food cart, but the lack of customers has forced him to spend less time there.

Kumar has taken up work as a delivery person at a local grocery store near IP Extension. “I need to support my family. I don’t have enough money to buy a bike; otherwise, I would have taken a job at Swiggy or Zomato. Since most of the deliveries are near the store, I don’t need a bike. I can walk or use my cycle for the deliveries. Without students coming, we have to find other ways to make money,” he said.

Currently, he sets up his cart in the afternoon for the staff and faculty at the school. “By 3-4 PM, I return home to rest for a bit and then go to work at the grocery store,” he said.

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Future remains uncertain

With GRAP Stage 4 invoked and no end in sight, it may be some time before these workers regain their footing.

According to the CAQM, GRAP outlines four escalating action stages based on AQI levels: Stage I (“Poor,” AQI 201-300) enforces bans on overaged vehicles; Stage II (“Very Poor,” AQI 301-400) targets pollution hotspots and limits diesel generator use; Stage III (“Severe,” AQI 401-450) imposes vehicle restrictions and may shift younger students to online classes; Stage IV (“Severe+,” AQI > 450) restricts vehicle entry, potentially closes schools, and halts non-essential business activities.

Currently, apart from schools, Delhi University (DU) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have also decided to conduct classes online.