Paper boys' absence draws blank, service ignored

World hawkers day

Newspaper hawkers are the vital link between newspapers and their readers though their services go unaknowledged.

A little delay in arrival of these ‘paper boys’ with their favourite dailies,  frustrates readers. Like supply of milk and plying of buses, newspapers are distributed religiously, may it be rain, winter or summer.

However, their endeavours are not respected many a times both by their employers and consumers. They will be at a receiving end even for delay of a few minutes in delivering the papers. 

The distributors begin their work much before dawn, collecting bundles of newspapers from the agents and segregating them for distribution in different areas. They create a buzz at bus and railway stations, persuading and pestering passengers to buy a copy.

Hawkers are of all ages and many of them are graduates, auditors, shop owners and students who work to fund their education.  However, with the print media facing the onslaught of electronic and digital media, hawkers may soon become characters in fairy tales.

Speaking about the massive change in the lives of the newspaper hawkers, 75-year-old B V hawker Gopal said “There is a need to create an awareness among people about the recognition that the agents, hawkers and distributors deserve.”

Revisiting his experiences, he further added “I have distributed newspapers and grown out of extreme poverty. I used to supply 40 newspapers per day as an agent.

By the time I reached retirement age I had to sell over 2,000 papers. Due to extensive pressure, I had to take up retirement for health reasons.”