Amrtha Kasturi Rangan

The COVID-19 crisis has brought the world to a standstill. Government, civil society and volunteers are rallying to ensure that social and economic inequalities do not dictate how this crisis draws lines between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Nonetheless, the crisis seems to have deepened the existing divide. Where we stand today, finding a way to address this divide is crucial if we want to see a better world on the other side of this pandemic.

Even as I sat down to write this the Jeevan Raths have rolled out and are serving migrants essentials - food, water and sanitary napkins  in two hotspots for migrant movement in Mumbai Metropolitan region - the Dahisar check naka , and Andheri to Borivali.

Listen to the interview here:

Rohini talks about the water sector, the COVID-19 pandemic and her vision for the city of Bengaluru. Read some excerpts below. 

Maharashtra has the highest COVID-19 cases in the country and the government is taking a slew of measures to flatten the curve. We speak to Mr. Yusuf Kabir, WASH specialist and emergency focal point for UNICEF Mumbai, who is at the forefront of the containment efforts to find out about their efforts towards WASH in urban and rural areas especially to tackle COVID-19 spread.

What is UNICEF’s response to Covid-19 in Maharashtra?

Sharing the right information with rural communities is emerging as an important need in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The unavailability of content in local dialects and regional languages is posing a big challenge to NGOs that are working in rural areas to spread awareness. Traditional forms of communication like face to face meetings, posters, handouts and wall paintings are also not possible during the lockdown making it harder for them to reach rural households.

Gazala Paul spent her 50th birthday among the Baiga people of Chhattisgarh. On the eve of her 25th wedding anniversary, she was in Rapar, a block near the Little Rann of Kutch, in a celebratory mood. The MLA of the region had come to a meeting organised with villagers from his constituency and promised to deliver them safe water based on sound scientific principles. He invited and encouraged Gazala and her group to lead this process. 

Scenario 1: You go to a cinema and it's cold.

Over the last few months, rains--whether they flooded India enough or not--have certainly flooded the news. May brought a grim prediction by the Minister for Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan, that this year’s monsoon forecast is expected to be 88 percent of the long-term average setting off fears of a drought.

On October 11, 2014, the Government of India launched an ambitious scheme for village development – the Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). The scheme requires ‘saansads’ or elected MPs to convert 3 villages in their constituency into ‘Adarsh Grams’ or model villages worthy of replication elsewhere in the country.

Raujibhai came to Dholavira with the excavation team of the Archeological Society of India when he was 19 years old. 25 years later, he's still there as a guide and like all guides, he brings to life the day to day lives of the people who lived here 4000 years ago through his couplets and his dramatisation.