Society, Culture, Religion and History

Suddenly thrown out of work by a nationwide lockdown, the migrants who built our cities and our economies were forced to take the torturous walk away from the cities to their homes in rural India. As per the findings of a recent survey by the Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi a new urban agenda focusing on dynamic urban planning processes and empowering the city governments is looked-for. The study points to the need for plugging the gaps instead of offering a hodgepodge of half-measures.

Swachh Survekshan for urban India: Navi Mumbai, Rajkot, Indore among the top

Slums, fast growing Covid-19 hotspots!

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.

Additional Rs 40,000 crore allocated to MGNREGA

Nearly 260 million Indian could be pushed to poverty due to Covid-19: Researchers

The study, ‘Covid-19 induced lockdown - How is hinterland coping’, based on a large survey undertaken by a consortium of civil society organisations undertook a rapid assessment of the impact of series of lockdowns on rural poor households. Of the many coping mechanisms, the most prominent was that over 50 percent of households in rural India have reduced the number of meals, while about 68 percent have reduced the number of food items in the meal ever since the lockdown was imposed.

When migrants headed home after Covid-19 lockdown 1.0, Sarojini was suddenly caught off-guard. She decided against moving, after an initial urge to leave for her village in Samastipur, Bihar. Her two sons stay with her at Delhi, doing daily wage labour work, while she works as a domestic help. After eating frugally for the first few days, and unable to access dry rations provided by the state, they came across cooked meals at a feeding centre, but the queue was endless.

Kachchh: A desert oasis under peril

The westernmost district of India, Kachchh was long known as the arid deserted region and seldom received mention for any important economic activities. But, with the earthquake in 2001 that brought in new development policies and interventions, the region witnessed a three-fold increase in the value of production at constant prices since 2001.

The global crisis due to Covid-19 has hit India after coursing through western Europe. India’s response to curtail the spread of the disease was quite decisive. It announced a Janata curfew on March 22, followed by a complete national lockdown from the midnight of March 24. This, however, exposed the fault lines in our system: thousands of migrant workers got stuck at various places, especially in metro cities, as they could not get enough time to plan their return. Providing them basic support like ration and shelter became a herculean task for the establishment.