Jaipur, May 28: The lockdown imposed to contain coronavirus outbreak aggravated the issue of unemployment across the nation. Several jobholders were rendered without employment following the massive shutdown imposed to curb the transmission of COVID-19. This has prompted Ramavtar Singh, a teacher in Rajasthan, to become a MNREGA labourer to support his family. Unemployment Rate in India Peaks to 24.6%, Reaches 43.2% in Haryana As Per CMIE Data; Check State-Wise Tally.

Ramavtar, 41, holds a masters degree in political science and completed his BEd from Rajasthan University in 2009. For the last 12 years, he was employed at a private school in Asalpur Jobner village, where he was teaching Hindi till upto Class 12th.

After the lockdown was imposed, Ramavtar claims that he was left cash-crunched and registered with the government to work under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act). The scheme, he said, has proved to be a life-saver for scores of people across the state.

"Working under this scheme has given us relief at this time of distress and we are thankful to the state govt for this. I used to earn Rs 20,000 per month and now I earn Rs Rs 235 a day that sums up to Rs 7,050 per month," said Ramavtar, who has been working under the MNREGA scheme since April 16.

Update by ANI

Although the lockdown has been relaxed in several states, restrictions continue in most sectors of the economy to prevent violation of social-distancing norms. Schools and colleges are unlikely to resume soon, as children, along with senior senior citizens, are considered to be more prone to contract the contagious virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2020 04:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).