‘We have to safeguard our rations from rodents’

Activists point to irony of labourers working on improving civic amenities living in poor conditions

As she works on levelling the pavement and helping her husband who is planting saplings, Sameena (name changed) keeps an eye on her three-year-old son, who is playing by himself nearby. Sameena and her husband Sharief (name changed) are among the 30-odd labourers working on T. Chowdaiah Road. The labourers, who are mostly from different districts of north Karnataka, live on-site in tents made of blue tarpaulin and tin sheets. There is just one portable toilet for all the labourers and their families. With soaring day time temperatures, these tents become inhospitable, and the nights are no better. Troubled by mosquitoes and rodents, sleep is elusive.