Working as construction workers has its share of woes. Delay in payment and even non-payment of wages is quite common. Protest means being beaten up. Factories are non existent in Patna. Government job is as precious as gold.
Private firms pay very little.
No labour standards exist. One has to be at the mercy of the proprietor. On the other hand, an added advantage of rickshaw pulling is immediate payment, they explain. An overwhelming majority of the rickshaw pullers in Patna are from North Bihar especially the districts are Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Samastipur and Begusarai. The construction of Mahatma Gandhi Setu over the Ganges facilitated easy migration from North Bihar to Patna.