Helpers turn helpless

Helpers turn helpless

Remya Nair

            A group of self engaged scribes surrounded by layman -  a common scene in front of government offices in the city. They are in a sense, unauthorized service providers with no benefits from government. From dawn to dusk they help a number of people in preparing the necessary documents to be submitted in these offices with a small service charge.

            Nobody really knows about the hardship these scribes face in this profession. Sati, an application writer sitting in front of corporation office says that she manages to earn an average of Rs.150 per day. But a huge share of it must be invested next day in the business. The maximum service charge is Rs. 20; you may even get a concession in this rate. There are even graduates and post graduates among these people.

They are not allowed to use  bathroom facility in the offices around which they work. The whole day, these scribes are forced to sit under the burning sun controlling their basic needs.

            The forms supplied by Kudumbasree units will not be sufficient in the months of school opening and mass adalath. This makes their problems more worse. Certain groups of people have registered complaints against these scribes in Museum police station, accusing them of public nuisance and creating hindrance to the pedestrians.

                   These scribes have no registered unions and they don’t have any sort of benefits or allowance from the government. All political parties simply ignore them as they don’t have any union activities. So, a chance to get any sort of benefits from government is really feeble. And a group of people wants to drive away these scribes from the government office premises putting their lives in danger.