Column: Radio Active Bangalore

As lockdown 4.0 starts with partial relaxation, and workplaces and work opportunities open up, public transport is an essential service that needs to be planned and operated with adequate precautions in place to prevent spread of COVID-19. Simultaneously, it should be a convenient and affordable option for access to livelihood and other essential needs. BMTC services are the lifeline of the city’s mobility needs, and the primary or even the only means of transport for a large section of the city’s population. The announcement to restart buses is welcome as it will enable them to get back to work again.…

Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union shares the problems faced by daily wagers during lockdown. RJ Asha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz speaks to Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union, about the many problems that daily wage labourers are facing during lockdown and the efforts to ease their difficulties. Gopal says they are managing to keep the Union’s Yeshwanthpur branch running by pitching in with their own money. The Union is trying its best to address the workers’ demands which the  government has done nothing to address. For now, the Union is helping them…

RJ Usha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz speaks to Mohammed Imran, a worker from the Dry Waste Collection Centre (DWCC) at Ward No 123, on problems related to waste collection and segregation during lockdown. It's been over a month since the lockdown began, but Imran says that door-to-door waste collection has been going on as usual. Several workers at Imran's DWCC have been absent from work as they live in Bapuji Nagar ward which has been completely sealed off. Hence the collected waste is not being segregated on time. This, along with the difficulty in transporting waste from the DWCC,…

RJ Asha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz talks to Jayalakshmi, a cab driver from Go Pink, Bengaluru’s women-only cab service, about the hardships drivers face during lockdown. Jayalakshmi ferries passengers to and from the Kempegowda International Airport through Go Pink, Bengaluru’s women-only cab service. The sudden implementation of the nationwide lockdown had taken her by surprise. Cab drivers across the city were unprepared for this and are now finding themselves in deep financial trouble, she says. Employees of the IT/BT sector have the privilege of working from home and getting paid, but workers like Jayalakshmi are left in the lurch.…

People with disabilities face additional challenges during COVID-19 lockdown. RJ  Manjula from Radio Active 90.4MHz talks to Srinivas Murthy, a first division clerk in the Forest Department who has vision disability, to bring these issues to light. Srinivas Murthy says that the sense of touch plays an important role in the lives of people with vision disability - be it for moving around or doing daily chores. Now, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, they need to be extra wary of the people they approach for help since the latter might be carriers of the virus. While people with disability who…

RJ Padmapriya from Radio Active 90.4 MHz discusses child abuse and mental health during the lockdown with Ashwini N V from the Muktha Foundation, an organisation committed to ‘prevent abuse and promote mental health’. During lockdown, everyone is primarily focusing on social and economic problems, but it’s important to bring issues related to mental health and abuse to the forefront, says Ashwini. Poor mental health of parents, unavailability of alcohol during lockdown, poor economic conditions, unemployment and frustration over not being able to step out are some of the reasons for the spike in child abuse during the lockdown. Parents tend…

RJ Usha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz talks to Azima, a resident of Banashankari, on the effects of water shortage during COVID-19 lockdown. Azima says shortage of drinking water is a key concern in her locality within Banashankari ward. Drinking water is available only once in about three days, and when water is released from the public tap, people crowd to collect it. This sometimes ends even in fights. Residents of this area do not have any other source of drinking water as they have to travel around a kilometre just to buy a Bisleri bottle.  Azima recounts that she…

RJ Radha from Radio Active 90.4 talks to Sreedevi from the Bangalore HIV Forum and Prabhanand Hegde from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) and highlights the problems faced by the People Living with HIV (PLHIV) community in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. They discuss solutions being implemented to help the community cope. Sreedevi says the main difficulty for PLHIV is the inability to step out and buy necessary medication during lockdown. To add to this, the people of this community find themselves out of work due to the lockdown, and the prices of the tablets they need…

Right To Education (RTE) helpline (1800 4253 4567) was launched recently by the  Social Welfare Department of Karnataka, which allows one to lodge complaints and get information on the Act. The Executive Director of the Child Rights Trust, Vasudeva Sharma, spoke to RadioActive about how the helpline could be used effectively. Vasudeva Sharma explained that the RTE Act had been introduced way back in 2009 in Karnataka, and a lot of calls used to be received by the Child Rights Trust members on their personal numbers seeking clarifications. Even though there were no instructions available regarding RTE at that time,…

Kong Tailin Lyngdoh, a Khasi lady from Meghalaya, was asked to leave a golf club in Delhi for wearing her traditional dress. She was told that she looked like a Nepali and that her dress made her look like a maid. To highlight this discrimination, the 'My Dress is My Identity' event was organised by the Northeast Solidarity at SCM of India, Bangalore on the 7th of July. The event explored the issue Kong Tailin Lyngdoh faced and discussed solutions on how people from Northeast India can educate fellow Indians about various aspects of their culture, history, and habits including…