Baleshwar Kumar, a 35-year-old mason from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, and most other daily wagers last week returned to Paharganj’s Chuna Mandi, which serves as an assembly point for contractors, masons, building material suppliers, painters and plumbers.

Kumar had to leave for his village soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation on November 8 and the market collapsed in the absence of cash. “I returned to Delhi after some people here told me that the cash situation had improved and they were getting work,” says Kumar, who has grown impatient ...