EDITORS' PICK

Apartment RWAs have insisted on restrictions beyond government guidelines to deal with COVID, affecting residents and workers. Representational image: Ramesh Meda/(CC BY 2.0) "In general, I don't have a good relationship with my RWA, but COVID brought out their worst side," says Mukesh (name changed), a resident of Ozone Evergreen Apartments in Sarjapur Road. His apartment RWA is one of many in Bengaluru which have come up with their own rules during the pandemic. One of these rules was to restrict the entry of domestic workers into the premises. According to Mukesh, the RWA had promised to change this rule…

The earlier articles in this series looked at the urban poor running out of cash and the stark reality of hunger during lockdown. In this part, we see the psychological effects of the lockdown on the poor. Parimala (name changed) can barely contain her tears. Between the sobbing, her words become less coherent. Clearly anxious, she checks the front door every now and then, lest her husband finds her speaking to someone. “It’s almost time for him to return from the liquor shop. Hopefully, if he is in a happy or a relaxed mood, my children and I don’t have…

In Part 1 of the Ground Reality series, we looked at how migrant workers who came to Bengaluru to be bread winners, fell back on their families to survive the lockdown. In Part 2, we see that hunger was a stark reality for many, all through the lockdown. Bengaluru eats moderately well. Well, at least it used to. According to a 2019 study on household food consumption practices by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), only 17% of households in the city were identified to be food insecure. This includes 13% that is severely food insecure. But overall, the survey,…

They left their villages so that their families would have one mouth less to feed. With their meagre incomes in the big city, they gave themselves the bare necessities: food, clothing and a roof above their head. The rest of their earnings went to their families in their distant towns and villages. It was no great life. But the cash -- however small -- came regularly. Their families back home could eat regularly; perhaps, a sibling could now go to college; may be, their mother could secretly save and pay off an old debt. They could not have asked for…

COVID-19 has led to another grave medical crisis in the city. Chennai, a national hub of healthcare, is now reeling under shortage of blood, leaving no option for critically-ill patients but to merely wait indefinitely for their turn. Most rare blood groups are unavailable in all the 19 government and private blood banks in Chennai, according to data from the national web portal e-raktkosh.  An analysis of the data shows that washed blood cells, plasma and Bombay blood group are unavailable in the 19 blood banks in Chennai. Another critical component, single donor platelets, is available only in one bank.…

As yet, there is no Standard Operating Procedure from the Centre or the state on this. But as uncertainty around reopening of schools drags on, at least some private schools in Mumbai have launched online classes to try and complete the syllabus of the current academic year. But the online learning system and the way it is being implemented by schools, is finding little support from parents. According to a survey conducted by the India Wide Parents Association (IWPA), a four-year-old Mumbai-based pan-India parents association, 80% of parents it polled are not in favour of virtual classes for their children.…

As yet, there is no Standard Operating Procedure from the Centre or the state on this. But as uncertainty around reopening of schools drags on, at least some private schools in Mumbai have launched online classes to try and complete the syllabus of the current academic year. But the online learning system and the way it is being implemented by schools, is finding little support from parents. According to a survey conducted by the India Wide Parents Association (IWPA), a four-year-old Mumbai-based pan-India parents association, 80% of parents it polled are not in favour of virtual classes for their children.…

Exactly a week before Srinagar reported its first COVID-19 case on March 19th, Junaid Azim Mattu, the flamboyant mayor of Srinagar chaired a high-level meeting with medical experts and senior officials of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), to frame the strategy to fight the spread of the deadly pandemic. Immediately after the meeting, he announced his first decision: closure of all schools and colleges across Srinagar. The announcement triggered a hot debate in the J&K administration and was opposed by the then divisional commissioner of Kashmir Basser Khan. But the same evening, the mayor’s decision was formally accepted and extended…

Chennai has seen a steady increase in the number of cases over the past two weeks. The city hit 10,000 cases on May 24th. In just over two weeks from the date,  the total number of cases has more than doubled, and the tally on June 11th stood at 27,398. The number of deaths stand at 279.  Recent days have seen citizens share harrowing accounts of  their inability to find beds and timely care for COVID+ family members. There are several reports of patients being forced to wait hours at public hospitals to be accommodated.  With the rising number of…

At 10 am on June 10th, Delhi government’s Corona Dashboard showed a total of 9021 COVID-19 beds, of which 4873 were occupied and 4148 were vacant. The availability of ventilators was 494 with 262 being used and 232 lying idle. These are figures as updated by the Central and Delhi state government and private COVID treatment facilities. And this Dashboard pattern showing about half the beds lying unoccupied has been there for the past many weeks. Yet, recent days have seen social media bursting with stories of patients going from hospital to hospital in search of a bed and being turned…