In Delhi’s industrial hub, jobless workers sell chicken, wash utensils

Guddi Devi was among those fired by the owner of a slipper unit in Mayapuri, Delhi, after demonetisation. (Express Photo: Sarah Hafeez)

Guddi Devi was among those fired by the owner of a slipper unit in Mayapuri, Delhi, after demonetisation. (Express Photo: Sarah Hafeez)

The ordinarily raucous Mayapuri Industrial Area in West Delhi, comprising 1,800 factories manufacturing everything from shoes to coolants and vehicle engines, has fallen largely silent over the last month. The only ones seeing brisk business are eight glitzy banquet halls on the Ring Road, veiling Mayapuri’s sooty factories and crumbling jhuggies.

It’s to these banquet halls that Shiv Kumar, 20, has turned since the owner of a slipper manufacturing unit fired him and around 80 others after demand plummeted post the November 8 demonetisation.

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