When a journalist sets out to tell the story of a city’s hidden workforce, the first question often asked in the editorial room is, “Where will we find these people?” The query itself hints at a deeper bias – that these workers exist outside the city’s visible map, as an ‘invisible’ segment that the municipal apparatus merely tallies in statistics.

The Reality of Cyclists

At Delhi’s busiest intersections, where peripheral roads meet industrial zones and affluent neighbourhoods, I met Sandeep, a 23‑year‑old who has been cycling for eight years. The pandemic forced him out of school to support his family, and today he rides eight kilometres each way to earn a daily wage. “We are invisible,” he told me, reflecting a frustration that goes beyond personal hardship – the city still lacks dedicated bike lanes, footpaths and safety measures for cyclists.

Challenges Faced by Waste Pickers

Waste pickers become visible only when their access to gated colonies sparks debate. My fieldwork took me to a slum cluster in Bhalswa, north‑west Delhi, a few kilometres from a towering landfill. There, I encountered Sameer Ali, who at 9 pm pushes a bicycle‑cart laden with cardboard after a day of sorting waste. Their labour relieves municipal systems of a massive burden, yet they receive no formal recognition, no protected workspaces, and often face accusations of theft.

Why Invisibility Persists

Invisibility is not accidental; it is a structural outcome of policy choices. When a city pours funds into car‑centric road networks while cycling infrastructure remains a footnote, workers who rely on bicycles or informal waste collection are pushed to the margins. This marginalisation compounds economic precarity, limits access to health care, education and social security, and renders their problems invisible to planners.

Pathways to Inclusion

Embedding these workers into official policy – granting them dignified workspaces, health benefits, and dedicated cycling lanes – can transform both their lives and the city’s sustainability. Public acknowledgment of their contribution would raise their self‑respect and create a more balanced urban development model.

Reporting these stories reminds us that a city’s ‘visibility’ is defined not merely by its skyline, but by the people who keep its daily rhythms moving.