Articles by Vijaya Pushkarna

After three days of hell on earth, Day 4 of the Narendra Modi decreed 21-day lockdown brought some relief to the thousands of migrant labourers in Kaushambi, a part of the NCR, but in Ghaziabad district of UP. These migrant labourers from distant parts of UP in Kaushambi had been left in the lurch. Those who could had started to walk back to their homes, 700 km away. Till finally on March 28th, after a major debate on why a government that can bring home Indians stranded abroad cannot send its migrant workers home, the government relented and started limited…

There has been a strange silence, both before and after the Janata curfew. Even as the rest of the world announces massive economic relief packages to tackle the Corona spread and help those whose livelihoods have been badly hit by the virus, the Narendra Modi government has said and done little on this so far. Trade unions and other groups have sent numerous recommendations to the Centre on steps that can be taken in the short term But even the economic task force, which the PM had announced during his address to the nation, has so far not yet been…

Delhi 6, or Old Delhi, is famous for its street food. And every foodie who visits stops at Ashok Chat Corner, at the corner of Chowk Hauz Qazi. But while ordering their pick, customers often ask the man making the chats about the downed shutter in the tiny shop next door. “He has stopped coming,” the chatwala would reply. “He will be at home, it is just a few minutes’ walk. Take the straight road…..”, and would give directions to the home of Satya Narain Saxena – 2983, the tenth generation of a family of deed writers, today the last…

Dr Malvika Iyer, a bomb blast survivor, is a motivational speaker and disability activist. Using the PM’s handle, @MalvikaIyer tweeted, “ People with disabilities should have equal representation—be it media, politics or any other field. The more we see them, the more we accept them as part of our society. Representation is key.” Malvika wrote, “Acceptance is the greatest reward we can give to ourselves. We can’t control our lives but we surely can control our attitude towards life. At the end of the day, it is how we survive our challenges that matters most.” The suspense was finally over…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 It was a dark December night, when Balvinder Singh, a 36-year old insurance advisor, returned from work and emptied his trouser pockets as usual only to find that his wallet was missing! There was not much money lost, but a credit card and a debit card, which he blocked immediately. But what annoyed him most was that his driving licence and car registration certificate were lost. Getting duplicates was a hassle he was not looking forward to. His wife suggested he call 1076. The couple live with Balvinder’s senior citizen…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020 Round the clock supply of clean drinking water and continuation of the free 20,000 litres per month water consumption per household that is currently in place, comes second (only after Jagmag Delhi -- subsidy on power bills) in Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s list of 10 “Guarantees” to the people of Delhi if they return him to power. Supplying free water, especially to areas that had no water supply, was one of AAP’s key promises when the party made its foray into electoral politics.…

This article is part of our special series on Delhi Elections 2020   2014 AAP manifesto promise Will ensure quality power supply and reduce citizens’ electricity dues by 50 per cent Delhi to be made a solar city CAG audit of discoms Adequate street lighting Delhi to have its own power station At 80 plus, Raj Rani Bhalla who lives with her working daughter in a four-bedroom apartment in East Delhi, manages every aspect of her household. The matriarch reads all the news relevant to her, and keeps an eye on all the discounts of food essentials in the stores in…