It was about 11 AM. There was an eerie silence at the Assi Ghat in Varanasi. The boats were moored in a row, fastened with thick ropes. Their knots had gathered moss. A boat was lying upside down towards the steps to the Ganga river.

Shyam, 55, was hammering nails into a plank. He said: “I am fixing the boat. If it is not looked after regularly, it will be become useless in five or six months. Since there is no work, this is how we are passing our time. This is what we have been doing for three months.”

Shyam is a boat repairer. He also builds new boats, but for the boats that he built during the lockdown, he is not getting anything. The boats that he is currently working upon are being repaired so that they are not ruined by standing idle for a few more months. The boat owners have promised him his remuneration upon the opening up of the lockdown.

“In Banaras, the boatmen don’t take out their boats for two-three months after the rains as it is risky. During the monsoon months, they are out of work. There used to be a lot of crowd during the summer vacations, but this time the lockdown has kept everyone away,” said Shyam.

There are 84 ghats along the Ganga in Varanasi. According to the Jai Maa Ganga Naavik Association, an association for boatmen, about 3,500 boats ply between the Assi Ghat and the Rajghat, and there are about 14,000 boatmen. Nearly 50,000 people, including the family members of these boatmen, are dependent on earnings from boat faring. The number of sailors registered with the municipal corporation stands at around 1,000.

Despite some relaxation in the lockdown, the boats have not yet been allowed to run at the ghats. The Varanasi boatmen are upset that their earning season of about three months has ended and that now the boats wouldn’t be allowed to ply until after two-three months following the rains. How will they meet their expense?

Shyam said: “We are now facing a food crisis. I have two children. We got 25 kg ration from the government only once. It had rice, wheat and dal. It had been consumed long ago. Besides this, we have not received any help from the government so far. Last time, when Modi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and Yogi (Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath) had come here, they were ferried in a boat made by me.”

Fattu Mistry, 70, another boatman, was mending nets at the Assi Ghat. “I am borrowing from people to somehow manage my household expenses. I only got 5 kg rice and half a kg gram once. How many days could it have lasted me? Now, the government should do something for us, otherwise we would perish like this. Now, the rain is going to come. I will have no work for the next two-three months.”

The lockdown has subjected the Varanasi boatmen to a double jeopardy. First, they couldn’t earn a penny during the peak season and now because of rain they won’t be able to take out their boats for ferrying.

The boating community has also been opposing the promotion of water transport in the Ganga. They fear that this will hamper their traditional work. The boatmen have been protesting against the government’s decision to build a riverfront and run a cruise upon the Ganges for a long time. Perhaps, this is why the licenses of the boatmen are not being renewed. Amid all this, the lockdown has further increased their woes.

Young Deepak Kumar Sahni belong to the mallah (boatmen) community. His grandfather and great grandfather were also boatmen. He is worried about the fact that the price of material to make boats has also gone up during the lockdown.

He said: “I thought of fixing some of the old boats since there is no work, but everything has become costly due to the lockdown. The price of the wood used to make boats has increased by 25 to 30 per cent. Earlier, the price of one boat was Rs 1 lakh, which has now gone up to Rs 13 lakh. The price has gone up by Rs 25,000-30,000.”

He added: “Since the cruise has started, our work has taken a hit. People are willing to pay Rs 800-900 for the cruise, but it’s too much for them to pay us Rs 50. Almost three months have passed without any work and three months more to go. We would not be earning for six months altogether. What will we eat? How will we look after our family? We don’t even have cultivable land.”

Virendra Jam, the president of Jai Maa Ganga Naavik Association, a boatmen’s organization, expressed displeasure over the fact that the government had earlier promised to help labourers and workers, but nothing has happened so far. Talking to Gaon Connection over the phone, he said: “So far, we have not received any help from the government. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that all the workers would get Rs 1,000, but not a single boatman has received any money. Whenever we cry for help, we are given assurances.”

He added: “Many boatmen are looking for others jobs due to the cruise. If this is the case, how long will the remaining boatmen continue doing it? Now, the boat will not run for the next two-three months. Many are saying that they will head to cities in search of work. For how long can one eat without earning. And, there are no other job available here.”

Deepak is outraged by the government’s attitude. “If the government was willing, it could have done a lot for us. This is the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but so far, we have been very disappointed. Normally, a boatman used to take home a daily earning of Rs 500 to 600. We have suffered massive losses.”