india lockdown

As the coronavirus outbreak shows no signs of abating any time soon, the economy of every nation, first world and third world, is in virtual free fall. For India too, COVID-19 is not only a public health challenge, but also an economic challenge that needs to be tackled on a war footing by the Central and state governments. Restricted cargo movement, weak supply chains, lack of liquidity in the markets, heavy cross-border movement by migrant workers and many other factors have added to the pressure on the economy. With relief packages aimed at the middle class and the poor being…

As with all other major urban centres, Pune’s daily wage earners are among the worst hit by the Coronavirus lockdown. As Pune grew in size and developed as one of Maharashtra’s major economic hubs, the city became home to lakhs of migrant workers, all of whom are today struggling to make ends meet due to the sudden loss of all income, as construction work and factories closed down overnight. While a few did manage to return home before the countrywide lockdown came into force, most who are stuck in Pune have no access to basic needs like food and shelter.…

The whole country is in lockdown in the hope of containing coronavirus. But as WHO has warned, lockdowns alone aren’t enough to tackle the pandemic. A critical step in containing coronavirus is contact tracing -- identifying anyone who came in contact with an infected person, quarantining and monitoring them. But in many of our cities, particularly in north India, contact tracing has been poor or even non-existent. Besides, there’s been large scale and blatant violations of the Central guidelines on mandatory quarantine of those who have returned from abroad. The worst offender is perhaps Bhopal, which doesn’t seem to have…

Sudha Rao is at her wits' end. Her six-year-old daughter Sharanya is staying home longer than normal and the mother has run out of ideas on how to keep her occupied. Painting, dancing, singing classes, summer camps - there is absolutely nowhere to go in these dangerous times created by the coronavirus outbreak. Sudha's story isn't unique, though. So we have put a list of things available for you kids to keep them engaged: COMMUNITIES / ORGANISATIONS 1) Bookaroolitfest An initiative on the International Mother Language Day 2020 YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch 2) Kathalaya's International Academy of Storytelling YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch 3) Delhi Storytellers' Tribe A…