URBAN POOR

Ehsaan Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Rajiv Nagar  -- three slums in and around Bhopal that are home to 288 families of the Bel-Pardhi, one of the 198 'denotified' tribes in India. Gandhinagar and Ehsaan Nagar came up in 2002 on the outskirts of Bhopal, whereas Rajivnagar is located well within the city limits. In the wake of the COVID-19 triggered lockdown, availability and access to food among these tribal families across these three slums, who lead a hand-to-mouth existence even during normal times, has emerged as an issue of great concern. Out of these 288 households, 50-60% have ration cards,…

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“PSU banks do not provide any kind of credit facilities for people who own lands in the urban villages, they say we belong to the Lal Dora. When we go to the MCD, they say we don’t belong to the Lal Dora and are an urbanised village now,” rues Deepak Tyagi, a 39-year-old resident and RWA president of Budhela village in New Delhi. This intriguing in-between nature of urban villages is what led us to study these areas and the digitalization of land records here. Lal Dora is a red thread that was drawn around the habitation or abadi areas…

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“Hello Teacher,  kis ka accha hain? Mera ya uska?” “Mera, Mera” (Hello Teacher. Whose toy is better - hers or mine?” “Mine, Mine”) Two paper frogs, one green and one white, talking to one another animatedly. The voices in the background belong to children. A joyful WhatsApp forward on a Sunday morning led us to pursue this heartwarming story of children in the bastis crafting puppets to beat the stress brought on by COVID-19. The lockdown has placed enormous economic burden on the urban poor. There is a palpable gloom produced by a normal way of life coming to a…

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“Hello Teacher,  kis ka accha hain? Mera ya uska?” “Mera, Mera” (Hello Teacher. Whose toy is better - hers or mine?” “Mine, Mine”) Two paper frogs, one green and one white, talking to one another animatedly. The voices in the background belong to children. A joyful WhatsApp forward on a Sunday morning led us to pursue this heartwarming story of children in the bastis crafting puppets to beat the stress brought on by COVID-19. The lockdown has placed enormous economic burden on the urban poor. There is a palpable gloom produced by a normal way of life coming to a…

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Pisavali is a densely populated, low income neighbourhood. Most residents of the low income settlement are working in the informal sector. Many of the temporary residents in the basti are migrants from states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal without a permanent home in the city. After the sudden declaration of a nationwide lockdown starting on the 24th of March, only a few of the migrants were able to go back to their native villages. The majority however was stranded in Pisavali.  Map of Pisavali. Source: Google Earth Life became difficult given the precarious nature of employment for residents…

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Pisavali is a densely populated, low income neighbourhood. Most residents of the low income settlement are working in the informal sector. Many of the temporary residents in the basti are migrants from states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal without a permanent home in the city. After the sudden declaration of a nationwide lockdown starting on the 24th of March, only a few of the migrants were able to go back to their native villages. The majority however was stranded in Pisavali.  Map of Pisavali. Source: Google Earth Life became difficult given the precarious nature of employment for residents…

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The rotis lay strewn about on the railway track near Aurangabad - a tragic testimony to the plight of the poor in our country. Having packed their meagre belongings, with a bundle of food to be shared among the many, they only wanted to go home. Yet 16 people ended up being run over by a train as they fell asleep, exhausted, on the railway track near Aurangabad. The price for a ticket home cost them more than they bargained for.  The issue of migrants wanting to return their homes has been as big a problem as the pandemic of…

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COVID is not a worry for Rajamma, a domestic worker living in the quarters given by her employer residing in a high-income neighbourhood of Bengaluru. Wearing a mask, she steps out every evening to buy essentials for the family that has employed her for 15 years now. Her daily shopping is mostly for vegetables and fruits while groceries are bought online and home delivered. Rajamma and her husband take care of the entire household work, which includes sweeping, mopping, folding clothes, drying and arranging washed dishes, cooking two meals and generally ensuring that her employer’s home is running smooth. Her…

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The government may have finally opened up movement for stranded migrant workers after a gap of 40 days, but their problems are far from over. In fact, a new set of ordeals seems to await the migrant, most of them daily wagers, as they are now forced to queue up in front of police stations in the quest for travel permits, after spending weeks in queues for food and rations.  Despite the central directive, uncertainty reigns supreme over the facilitation of their travel back home.  The first thing that 31-year-old Anwar Hussain and his eight colleagues, all daily wage labourers…

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The government may have finally opened up movement for stranded migrant workers after a gap of 40 days, but their problems are far from over. In fact, a new set of ordeals seems to await the migrant, most of them daily wagers, as they are now forced to queue up in front of police stations in the quest for travel permits, after spending weeks in queues for food and rations.  Despite the central directive, uncertainty reigns supreme over the facilitation of their travel back home.  The first thing that 31-year-old Anwar Hussain and his eight colleagues, all daily wage labourers…

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