Chennai: Field workers hit hard – Times of India

Robbed of his daily earning of ₹500, the smell of freshly cut grass on the golf course has now begun to haunt Ramesh (name changed), the 40-year-old caddie from Chennai, reminding him of the uncertain times. He is among the 160-odd caddies without a job since the lockdown was announced on March 24.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought sports events across the world to a screeching halt. While the players’ income might have taken a hit, it is the daily wage workers in the circuit who are finding it difficult to sustain themselves. These are the people who are central to respective disciplines, but more often than not their work goes unnoticed.
While the Tamil Nadu Golf Federation caddies have been unemployed for nearly a month, the income of the groundsmen and referees across disciplines like hockey and football among other sports has also gone for a toss. Slightly better off are the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) and Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) groundsmen, umpires and scorers who can draw a monthly salary. But it hardly alters the grim picture.
Missing the action during the summer holidays means loss of earnings for workers. The corporate tournaments organised mostly by Korean and Japanese golfing enthusiasts in the city during the summers help them see through the leaner months. But the sudden lockdown hasn’t given them a chance to prepare for a contingency plan. “We are under huge pressure as we don’t have any other source of income. The TNGF tried to help but we haven’t received any help from the state government or other organisations so far. Neither do we have any skills or resources to start something new,’’ said a caddy, who didn’t wish to be named.
Though the TNGF has come forward and distributed 15kg of rice, oil and wheat to the caddies, the extension of the lockdown has raised questions on if the provisions will last. “Our members have contributed generously and we have accumulated ₹15 lakh, of which ₹4,000 has been paid to each registered caddie last week. The rest of the amount has been used to distribute provisions like wheat, rice, sugar and oil for the past three weeks,” TNGF treasurer Raama Subramanian told TOI.
The situation is bleak in football and hockey too. Around 24 groundsmen who are in charge of the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium Hockey Stadium maintenance have had no income during the lockdown period. The Chennai Hockey Association (CHA) efforts to help workers proved futile because bank account details of many of these groundsmen were unavailable. “We know they are in trouble but we can’t contact them. We have decided to allocate a special budget for them and once the lockdown is lifted, we’ll help them with cash,” CHA president V Baskaran said.
It’s not just the field staff, football referees and match officials too are in dire straits. For the past two years, there have been no state-level competitions because of the ongoing feud between football associations, and now the lockdown has robbed referees a chance of officiating corporate or college tournaments as well.
A referee would earn around ₹1,600 for conducting college and corporate events. “We have a peculiar scenario as 50% of us have a government job and this is something we do out of passion. But the rest who solely rely on this for livelihood are at a loss,” said Barani, a state-level referee.
In cricket, most umpires, scorers and groundsmen affiliated to TNCA, TNTA, different clubs and academies draw a monthly salary, but there are a few second-rung officials who are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Such is the case of umpire U Aravindan and scorer A Mathan, both of whom were recently shifted from Thiruvallur district to Chennai and earn their livelihood solely through officiating matches.
An umpire earns between ₹1,200 and ₹1,500 while a scorer takes home ₹750 for TNCA league matches. “April and May are the months when we earn a lot of money. It is when schools and colleges are closed and inter-academy matches are held every day. Corporates too choose these months to conduct tournaments as they want to cash in on the IPL fever. So we would easily make around ₹40,000 a month. That income is lost this year,” Aravindan said.
Going forward, it might be a while before the workers can get back on the field and that is what is a concern of many. “It might become unbearable if the lockdown is extended further,” said Mathan.

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