Hyderabad: A survey conducted by a non-governmental organization (NGO), Helping Hand Foundation revealed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Hyderabad floods on old city residents’ lives. For the purpose of the survey, the NGO selected 7200 households spread over 20 different localities located in the old city of Hyderabad.
According to a report published in the Times of India, the survey found that both Covid-19 and floods have hit the poor hard. It also found that 80 percent of the households lost properties, jobs, and wages. Around 30 percent of the blue-collar workers left with no option but to become daily wagers.
Apart from livelihoods, their health also suffered. Around 40 percent of adults aged above 35 years are suffering from hypertension. Around 40 percent of women complain of polycystic ovary disease. Many families are struggling to avail of welfare schemes as they have lost their documents in the Hyderabad floods.
The survey also found that the pandemic and floods also affected the children. One out of three children left school education to start earning.
Helping Hand Foundation managing trustee Mujtaba Hasan Askari informed that 33 percent of students aged between 10 and 17 year have left their education to earn livelihood for their families.
The women of the old city are struggling to find livelihood due to the closure of small trade. Some of them were abandoned by their husband during the Covid-19 lockdown. The average age of abandoned women is 30 years.
