In a dark room, next to an empty stove, a rickshaw driver sat, looking hopelessly at the ground with his five children and wife after his landlord in Karachi, Pakistan, cut the electricity and gas.
The daily wage worker was unable to earn a living driving his rickshaw due to the coronavirus lockdown in the country and as a result, he was unable to pay the rent for the last two month.
A video of the man along with his family was posted on social media, and it has gone viral. Many are questioning why the Pakistani government has been unable to help such workers despite announcing relief packages and other welfare activities.
The video was reportedly taken in Manzoor Colony, a neighbourhood of Karachi’s East district.
The man recording the video is heard asking the man about what happened, to which he says that the family has no “light” and “gas”.
“It is very difficult to provide for my five children,” the rickshaw driver, wearing a facemask said.
The landlord has now given an ultimatum of two to three days to the family to vacate the house, or else he will throw everything out.
The man taking the video then shows around the humble home, saying that the stove had not been lit the whole day as there was no gas.
He, along with the rickshaw driver, ask for people to help in the end of the clip, stating his address.
Social media user reacted to the worrisome video.
Twitter user @Rafay80694615 wrote in an Urdu tweet: This problem is very important. In fact, those who are daily wage earners, they have no other source of income. The government should solve this problem.”
User @Shah_zeb tweeted at Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM) Chairman Aoun Abbas, @AonAbbasPTI, and wrote: “Can something be [done] for this family?”
