Delhi protest: Stopped at police barricades, daily-wage workers lose day’s earnings

Several daily-wage labourers lost a day’s earnings, as they were turned away at security barricades by the Delhi Police on Saturday morning, while they were on their way to workplaces in Central Delhi.

Follow the updates of the Delhi protest on October 10, 2026.

As Delhi turned into a fortress ahead of the protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, security forces set up multiple layers of barricades on roads leading to central Delhi. At the barricades, mostly only people with government ID cards were allowed to proceed towards Central Delhi.

Around 9:30 a.m., Ram Kishan Mandal, 36, was among a group of daily-wage workers employed at a construction site in central Delhi, who were stopped by Delhi Police personnel at a barricade leading to India Gate in Central Delhi. “Police are saying that we don’t have a permit to go ahead. We tried calling our employer, who asked us to walk to the site, but they are not allowing us,” he said.

Mr. Mandal, who hails from Katihar district of Bihar, said that his house was destroyed in the recent flood in the State, and his wife and children were living in a makeshift house with a tarpaulin roof. “If we earn something, then only I will be able to rebuild my house,” he said. “If we don’t work, we will lose out on today’s wage. What will we eat for two days?”

At another such barricade near Nizamuddin, another group of daily-wage workers was turned away by the police. “We are working at a construction site just across the flyover, but the police are not allowing us to go,” one of the workers said, pointing to a flyover about 50 metres away.

Mukesh Chauhan, 47, who works as an electrician at a work site in central Delhi, was also stopped at the Nizamuddin barricade while he was going to work on his motorbike. “If I don’t go, then I won’t get paid for the day. But they (police) are not allowing me to go. I earn only about ₹9,000 a month. People like us should be allowed to go. If I don’t work today, I will also lose the ₹100 I have spent on petrol for travelling,” he said.

Devender Chauhan, 41, on a scooter along with his wife was stopped at the barricade. “She works at a cafe in central Delhi. Look at her uniform; the company’s name is written here, but they are not allowing us to go,” he said.

“The advertising company in Khan Market, where I work, is asking me to go and open the shop. The main key is with me. They are now saying, don’t work today. I have checked other roads also, everything is closed,” Mr. Chauhan said.

After multiple requests, Mr. Chauhan’s wife finally got permission from one of the police officers to walk to her work place about 2 km away.

“Last time also, when Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, Khan Market was barricaded on all sides, and we were not allowed to even leave. We had to wait for about two hours,” he added, referring to the June-July protest in Jantar Mantar by CJP and other students’ unions.

CITU (Delhi) secretary, P.V. Aniyan, said that daily wage and gig workers in Central Delhi and nearby areas were the worst affected by the government’s clampdown. “Their one day’s earnings have been completely affected. Before enforcing such a blockade in Delhi, the government should think about its effects,” he said.