Gurgaon faces domestic help shortage as workers head home for West Bengal elections

GURGAON: Finding someone to do household chores is hardly a difficult job. It’s finding the right one that usually proves tricky. But forget the right one, finding anyone is tough these days. With waves of domestic workers from NCR having left for West Bengal to vote in the ongoing assembly elections, triggered by anxieties about deletion from voter rolls after the state’s controversial special intensive revision (SIR), the unprecedented exodus has made finding a domestic worker the day’s hardest challenge for families whose regular helps have taken long leaves and returned home.

The answer that they have turned to — the recently launched instant help services — are struggling to meet the demand. Wait times for an instant help booking slot in the city currently range from 3-7 days across apps. The platforms themselves have about a third of their workforce unavailable for the same reasons. Those on the platforms have seen booking slots and working hours double, turning their days into a relentless door-to-door dash. Checks across Pronto, Snabbit and Urban Company showed most slots in places like sectors 31, 56 and 57 unavailable for the next three to five days, with weekend and early-week bookings already packed. On Pronto, all slots were greyed out across MG Road and sectors 56 and 57, barring one 4 pm on Monday opening on MG Road. Similar patterns appeared on Snabbit and UC. In peripheral areas such as Sector 89, availability was patchy. Rates, too, have climbed sharply from the heavily discounted launch phase, likely because of the surge in demand. Usual pricing on the platforms is around Rs 100 an hour, but users are currently having to shell out Rs 200 or more.

“Earlier, I got four or five bookings and started around 10 am. Now, I begin by 8 am and don’t finish before 7 pm. The workload has gone up sharply, but I don’t really know if I’m earning more. I get a fixed Rs 25,000 a month,” said Rakhi (20), a UC worker from Patna. She said the last 15 days have been especially difficult. “I’m constantly moving from one house to another. I have two children. My husband works nights, so he looks after them in the morning. But work has gone overboard,” she added.

Suman Kumari (22) from Darbhanga, who is registered on Snabbit, said her daily assignments have nearly doubled. “From four bookings a day, it’s eight or nine now. Weekends are no longer optional. Earlier, I would return to the nearest hub and take a short break after every assignment. Now, as soon as one job ends, I have to rush to the next location,” she told TOI. By the time Suman gets home, it is past 8 pm. “I just eat and crash. The next day starts early again. I log in by 7 am and begin work by 8 am.”

Narsra Khatoon (23), who moved from Sitamarhi two years ago, said, “In the last two weeks, orders have increased sharply. Customers are booking repeatedly on the app. My entire week is filled. Even 30-minute gaps get filled with last-minute bookings,” she added. Each assignment, she said, is also taking longer. “Earlier, one job took about an hour. Now, many last three to four hours. It’s not just cleaning. We’re washing utensils and clothes, ironing, cleaning kitchens, fans, windows and fridges, and even arranging wardrobes and bedding. In this heat, it’s exhausting.”

According to platforms, 30-35% of their registered workers have travelled home for polling. “We are seeing very high demand. Workers are continuously engaged through the day and most log in by 7 am,” said Saurav Singh, area manager at Snabbit. “Because of the Bengal elections, around 30-35% of our workforce is away. Earlier, one worker handled four to five jobs daily. Now, it’s seven to eight, sometimes more.”

The shift is visible at pick-up points too. In sectors 89, 31, 45, 56 and 57, workers usually seen waiting for assignments were largely absent during visits over nearly six hours on Saturday, with most now moving directly between back-to-back assignments. For residents, the disruption began a couple of weeks ago when regular maids left and no local replacement was available. “Our regular maid has gone home to vote, and there is no backup in the society. We’ve had to rely on apps almost every day this week. I have booked for 20 days in advance,” said a resident of Sector 56. Arpita Bharadwaj, who lives in DLF Phase 3, said even basic chores now need planning. “Earlier, we depended entirely on our local maid. Now, even for utensils or cleaning, we’re relying on apps. But getting a slot is difficult. I booked on Friday and got one for next Thursday at 3 pm. Nothing was available over the weekend,” she added. Platforms managers said the pressure is likely to ease gradually from next week. Bengal votes in the second and final phase on April 29.