On Standby? But for How Long? The Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown Measures on the Urban Poor of Sri Lanka

Crisis situations such as the pandemic we face right now, exacerbate existing inequalities and make the vulnerable even more susceptible to risks and shocks in their lives. This is all the more so in middle- and poor-income countries where inequalities are particularly manifest in their primate cities. Identifying those at-risk, in situations that are in a constant state of flux, shaped by past socio-economic ruptures, is challenging. Macro trends leading to a sharp fall in GDP as foreign exports and tourism have slumped due to a strongly reduced global demand, alongside severe restrictions in mobility for Sri Lankans - within the country and across national borders - have resulted in a sharp increase of debts, at both national and individual levels. Thereby COVID 19 re/creates disproportionate multi-dimensional inequalities on those who depend on global connections for their occupations, shaped by their geographical locations, intra-household gendered division of labour-both paid and un-paid-and the need to ensure continued access to all kinds of services to sustain their lives, be these quality health services, education for their children, or otherwise. Further, traditional social safety nets to help overcome crises at individual and household level are found to now be unable to provide required levels of social security because this crisis has affected so many at the same time. The pandemic is thus evolving into a major urban crisis, in which large cities are concomitantly struggling to contain the disease and mitigate its effects therein hampering the local population, notably those operating in the informal sector , from sustaining their livelihoods. Local city authorities are struggling to balance with their financial reserves and the instruments available this balance in effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, as a silver lining to the dark clouds of the pandemic, the crisis is also creating new opportunities for the more enterprising parts of an urban population. The booming gig economy and the emergence platform and social media-based enterprises are some examples to note. Nonetheless these are seldom initiated by the urban poor. Using findings from an online survey of 466 respondents from urban and non-urban Sri Lanka in March to April 2020, during the COVID 19 lockdown, this paper focuses on understanding gendered vulnerabilities of populations from diverse geographies in their current lived reality and their anxieties in coping with the current crisis. More specifically the article will analyse the impact of reduced individual and household incomes, dynamics of remittances support, anticipated changes in livelihood opportunities (including perceived job assurance) and ways of managing finances during lock-down