The lockdown has bared the gap between what the government and its citizens consider essential.

Essential gadgets, at least in urban areas, such as phones, water purifiers, laptops and refrigerators can’t be repaired as service centres and repairmen are nowhere to be found, making life and work difficult for people.

Arun Kumar Mishra of Vidyapati Nagar off Kanke Road learnt it the hard way when his water purifier conked off and he had no way of getting it repaired. “I replaced the filter with an old one after decarbonising it as much as I could,” he said. “I hope it works till the lockdown is lifted.”

The Jharkhand government on Sunday decided not to give any relief during the third phase of the lockdown that began on Monday, though the Centre had allowed certain relaxation in orange and green zones.

So, when Sandhya Sharma of Morabadi, Ranchi, suddenly found her smartphone had stopped working, she knew she could do nothing.

A neighbour suggested she replace the device’s IC (integrated circuit) but mobile service centres are shut.

“My parents live in Mangalore (Karnataka) and my 18-month-old son is very attached to them, but we can’t speak to them as often as we did earlier. We have to wait to use my husband’s phone after his work calls get over,” she said.

A media executive, who did not want to be named, said his laptop was not working but there’s no one around for repairs. “I’m barely managing work on my smartphone but I can’t consult the important documents saved in my laptop,” he said.

A reporter with a national daily said his laptop had also stopped working. “I either manage to file reports on my smartphone or go to the office. The lockdown has made us painfully aware of the lack of a support system that we usually take for granted,” he said.

A homemaker pointed out that the weather god had been kind so far with showers keeping the temperature down, so air-conditioner snags did not matter much. “But those whose refrigerators have problems are in a soup. Without a fridge, you can’t store greens, milk or fish and poultry products, which means going to the market more often. It’s a pain during the lockdown, and is not safe health-wise.”