IITGN Speaks: The Lockdown Experience Of A Plumber

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi, American football coach

Sanjay Kumar Bariya has been a part of the IIT Gandhinagar family for the last four years. A resident of Palaj village near the IITGN campus, he works as a plumber from 9 AM to 6 PM daily and fixes leakages, maintains pipes in bathrooms and kitchen sinks, repairs different tapware, and takes care of other plumbing related issues in the Hostel and Housing areas of the Institute. He is a native of Godhra municipality in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat, and it is where his family (of six) lives. Apart from him, all of his other family members are farmers.

Talking about the basic strategies to combat the novel coronavirus disease that is disrupting the world today, he said that he is taking all the precautions to limit the spread of this viral illness. During his working hours, he always ensures to wear a mask and maintain proper social (physical) distance while visiting a house or room to repair the plumbing. He also applies sanitizer before and after visiting any place and washes his hands with soap and water frequently. 

When asked about how COVID-19 has adversely affected his lifestyle, he stated that the current pandemic has almost upturned his life. In the times before this worldwide notorious viral spread, he and his friends used to go on long drives and hang out together after their working hours. None of this is possible now, because of the nationwide lockdown. People cannot go out for fun. Earlier, he visited his family in Godhra twice a month without fail. But because of this novel coronavirus disease, he is forced to remain stuck at the campus. “It has been a really long time since I met my family. I miss them a lot. Like many other people, this pandemic-triggered lockdown has been very difficult for my family and friends. It has left them jobless, and now, I am the only bread earner of my family. The impacts of this crisis are very upsetting indeed,” he expressed sadly.

From the time of the very first lockdown that was implemented by the Government of India, Sanjay has been living inside the IITGN campus with several other Institute workers as an active effort to avoid the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. He mentioned that his workplace takes care of him and his colleagues during these times of adversity. All of them are being provided with hygienic and spacious rooms, along with all the necessary facilities. Moreover, the Institute makes sure that they get four proper meals a day – a balanced diet! Not only this, but several arrangements are also made so that these people do not feel bored or lonely. According to him, “whenever I feel like I am getting bored, I go and watch a movie or a show on the television that is installed by the Institute in the common area of its hostels.” 

Sanjay Kumar Bariya is hopeful that we all will soon be able to defeat COVID-19 and things will slowly return to normal. He wants to catch up with his family and friends soon and looks forward to doing all those things, yet again, that he enjoyed the most – those long drives, chitchats and happy times. He is very grateful to the IIT community for treating him like family and standing united with him in these hours of need. He is proud to be a part of this place.

“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” – Dr. Robert Schuller, televangelist, pastor, motivational speaker, and author

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — 

This article is authored by Apeksha Srivastava, with help from Dhara Vora and Devarsh Barbhaya.