Actor Kamal Haasan has written an open letter to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. In his letter, he requests swift action to protect the livelihood of labourers along with those affected by the coronavirus. He appreciates the self-quarantine measures that the PM has initiated. He says that the self-quarantine measures would help tackle the virus but not the fear of losing their livelihood that the large labour force of India harbours. He requests the PM to help the “Unsung Heroes” - agriculture and manual labourers, fishermen, etc.
Haasan wrote, "I write this letter to urge the Government to not lose sight of the plight of these unsung heroes who toil hard to power our economy and build our nation. The 'Economic Response task force' set up by the government needs to address the issue with alacrity." He added, "...More than 90 per cent of our workforce is the informal sector who make their daily ends meet. If we consider the workforce even in the 'formal' sector that does not enjoy standard employee benefits, this could be more than 95%. They are our construction workers, agriculture and manual labourers, fishermen, MSME workers and so on."
The actor advocates for the suggestions made by economics experts. The experts have stated that tax breaks, deferred credits, and grants to protect those in need might help uphold the economic stability of the economy.
He wrote, "The task-force should ensure that there is no drop in wages of our labour force. It should also consider direct cash transfer to this most vulnerable populace to enable them to tide over this crisis."
The Coronavirus crisis has indeed affected every corner of the country. The preventive measures will cause a massive disruption to their livelihoods, say experts. With most of India under lockdown, it is harder for daily wage workers and labourers to meet day to day expenses. In this time of crisis actor, Kamal Haasan asks the PM to aid the labour force of the nation.
