COVID-19

While most of restaurants in the city have downed their shutters, the Amma Unavagams have come to the rescue of daily wagers and migrant labourers in Chennai. Ever since the lockdown was announced, the government-run canteens have been witnessing heavy footfall. Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has also announced free food for the sanitation workers during the lockdown period. “Every canteen has the potential to cater to 2000 to 3000 people every day. All the canteens can together cater to about 10 lakh people. We have equipped them to cater to more,” says GCC Commissioner Prakash. The corporation has also trained…

Siddhakka, a street food vendor aged around 70, has been working in the Peenya Industrial area for 14 years. She had come to Bengaluru due to drought and agricultural distress in her home village. Her daughter, who was deserted by her husband, had no means to earn as she lacked proper education. She has been entirely dependent on Siddakka, and lives and works with her. Food vending is the only livelihood for this mother-daughter household. The current 21-day nationwide lockdown has made people like Siddakka, who already live on the margins, more vulnerable. A telephonic survey of informal sector workers,…

On an endless stretch of National Highway 58 (NH-58), a batch of over 200 migrant workers, arriving all the way from Ahmedabad are intercepted at the Rajasthan borders. The officials manning the borders, who are short-stocked on testing kits or thermal screening devices are insistent that the ‘returnees’ produce ‘Health Certificates’. The repeated claims of the migrants, including women and elderly, that they are natives of the state are insufficient to secure them safe passage back to their homes in South Rajasthan. Since the nation-wide lock down on March 24th, the reverse-migration of semi-skilled and unskilled workers ‘on foot’ --…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கொரோனா வைரஸ் அல்லது கோவிட்-19 என்ற நோய்க்கு அறிமுகம் தேவையில்லை. வைரஸ் தொற்று பரவல் பற்றியும் மத்திய மாநில அரசுகள் எடுத்து வரும் நடவடிக்கைகள் குறித்தும் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே. இந்த கட்டுரை எழுதும் இந்த சமயத்தில் கிட்டத்திட்ட ஆயிரம் பேருக்கு தொற்று பரவி 29 பேர் உயிரிழந்துள்ளனர். இதற்கு மேலும் தொற்று விரைவாக பரவாமல் இருக்க அரசாங்கமும் ஒவ்வொரு தனி நபரும் போதிய பாதுகப்பு நடவடிக்கைகளை மேற்கொள்ளவேண்டும். சமூக விலகல், ஜனதா கர்ஃபியூ, ஊரடங்கு ஆகியவற்றிற்கு நடுவே, மனநலம் குறித்து விவாதிக்கப்படவில்லை, இது போன்ற அசாதாரண சூழலில் பொது சுகாதாரத்தில் ஒரு முக்கிய சவாலாக இது உள்ளது. இச்சமயத்தில் ஆரோக்கியமான மனநிலையை பேணுவதும், குறிப்பாக மனநல பாதிக்கக்கூடியவர்களுக்கு உதவுவதும் முக்கியம். கோவிட்-19 (கொரோனா வைரஸ்) தொற்று  மனநலம் மீது எத்தகைய தாக்கத்தை ஏற்படுத்தும் என பெங்களூருவை சேர்ந்த மனநல மருத்துவர் மற்றும் ரிச்மண்ட் பெல்லோஷிப் சொசைட்டியின்…

The city that never sleeps has a new, deadly reason to remain awake at nights, as its worst fears about the coronavirus outbreak has come true. Mumbai has reported that the virus has spread to its slums, making it difficult, if not impossible, to break the chain by tracking and isolating the source and its primary contacts. Till March 30th, Mumbai had registered 8 deaths and 126 positive cases, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Positive cases have now been reported from slums in different localities like Worli Koliwada, Ghatkopar, Kalina and Prabhadevi. In Worli Koliwada and nearby Janata…

The city that never sleeps has a new, deadly reason to remain awake at nights, as its worst fears about the coronavirus outbreak has come true. Mumbai has reported that the virus has spread to its slums, making it difficult, if not impossible, to break the chain by tracking and isolating the source and its primary contacts. Till March 30th, Mumbai had registered 8 deaths and 126 positive cases, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Positive cases have now been reported from slums in different localities like Worli Koliwada, Ghatkopar, Kalina and Prabhadevi. In Worli Koliwada and nearby Janata…

With schools across the country forced to suspend classes because of the COVID lockdown, children across the country are now meeting an entirely new set of teachers who help them with their coursework: their desktops, laptops, iPads - and their parents. Classes went online with most schools switching to virtual classrooms, circulating homework via emails and conducting video tutorials. From yoga classes to science lessons, schools in India are gearing up to impart online education for an indefinite period.  Traditionally, Indian parents are used to a routine: getting children ready in the morning, sending them to school, picking them up…

It is being called the ‘long march of India’ - millions of migrant workers are fleeing our cities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s 1967 political slogan “Roti Kapda aur Makaan” still resonates with approximately 139 million internal migrants in our country who form the unappreciated (but not anymore, as we are forced to clean up our homes) layer of our service industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen one of the most stringent lockdowns in the history of our country. And it was necessary too, to curb the spread of the virus. But the entire concept of lockdown…

The first day of the month usually excites working people as they look forward to their salaries, but like so many other things, COVID-19 has changed that too. A large number of people are dreading the commencement of the month, as they are not likely to receive their salaries, even as they have to pay their rent, utilities and other bills. Primary among them are domestic workers, many of whom have already lost their jobs as a fallout of the coronavirus outbreak in the city. It is a fact that most gated communities and responsible resident welfare associations in Chennai…

My domestic help Vijayamma is an ardent student of the WhatsApp University syllabus. Ever since the world began to grapple with COVID-19, Whatsapp forwards have gone from ridiculous to Sajid Khan-movie-level logic. Picture this - somebody told her that exposure to sunlight on Sundays causes the infection, and I found myself sitting in semi-darkness a whole day. Another day, I woke up to her peering over me, wearing something like Tom Hardy's mask from the 'Dark Knight Rises'. Her theories gets so bizarre, I often want to order a chemistry set and start finding a cure for this damned virus…