Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on livelihoods of informal workers in Kolkata: from sustainable livelihood perspective.

The COVID-19 pandemic was not only a global health emergency but an economic crisis, adversely impacting global economic activities and posing a long-term impact on human livelihood. The pandemic also disturbed the earning competencies of the population, among which the marginalized communities were tremendously affected. In this respect, informal sector workers are marginalized and badly affected by the pandemic. This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of informal workers in the Kolkata, the third most populated urban agglomeration in India, which was one of the epicenters of COVID-19 in the country. The study mainly based on primary field survey data collected through a well-designed questionnaire and in-depth interviews. A total of 90 participants were selected using purposive sampling, which consisted of six groups of informal workers, i.e., train hawkers, street food vendors, domestic helps, workers in medicine shops, vegetable sellers, and fish sellers were selected. Out of the six groups of informal workers, the first three are from non-essential services, and rest of three are from essential services. For measuring the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood of informal workers, a Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) was prepared by modifying the DFID's Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The LVI is a cumulative outcome of three sub-indices, i.e., Adaptive capacity Index, Sensitivity Index and Exposure Index, comprised of sixteen variables. The results reveal that workers engaged in non-essential services suffered more due to the pandemic, and their livelihood became more vulnerable in comparison to the workers engaged in essential services. Another striking observation is that female informal workers are more vulnerable than their male counterparts, irrespective of the nature of services. The study emphasizes the need for livelihood security policies to protect informal workers from similar future crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]