URBAN POOR

April 15th is the day that marks the beginning of the annual 60-day trawling ban in Tamil Nadu. A ban that restricts fishermen with mechanised boats from venturing into the sea. A ban that sees fewer boats getting into the sea along the coastline of Chennai. Not this year! The Bay of Bengal was abuzz with activity on the 15th when scores of fishermen (mechanised boats are still banned) sailed into the sea after 21 days of the first phase of the nation-wide lockdown. While the lockdown was extended for another 18 days, the central government’s move to exempt fishing…

This article is co-authored by Jillian Du, Robin King and Radha Chanchani The COVID-19 pandemic has created a disruptive new normal for everyone through shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines. But for the billions of urban poor, these guidelines aren’t just burdensome; they’re essentially impossible. Social distancing is a critically important response to the pandemic, but it also assumes that residents have adequate space, services and social safety nets to survive such an order. This is simply not the reality across cities in Asia, Africa and Latin America. More than 1 billion people live in slums and informal settlements globally. As much…

India’s COVID-19 lockdown, one of the strictest in human history, was recently extended by the Prime Minister of India until the 3rd of May. Many stranded migrants waiting for public transport to take them back home or for production activities and markets to resume functioning were disappointed one more time, after the PM’s announcement on April 14th.  Along with poor migrants, other economically weaker sections in the city have been struggling for survival in the slums of cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Surat and Bangalore. This extension would seem like a terrible fait accompli and a final nail in the coffin…

India’s COVID-19 lockdown, one of the strictest in human history, was recently extended by the Prime Minister of India until the 3rd of May. Many stranded migrants waiting for public transport to take them back home or for production activities and markets to resume functioning were disappointed one more time, after the PM’s announcement on April 14th.  Along with poor migrants, other economically weaker sections in the city have been struggling for survival in the slums of cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Surat and Bangalore. This extension would seem like a terrible fait accompli and a final nail in the coffin…

All hopes are pinned on the over 1000-plus fair price shops of the public distribution system (PDS) in the city to deliver on the central and state government’s promise of extra ration during the lockdown. There are over 16 lakh active ration cards in Bengaluru, according to the Food and Civil Supplies Department website. The state government announced the doubling of rations for the next three months for existing card holders while the central government announced extra 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month and an extra 1 kg of pulses under the PDS. “Under PDS, 10…

With close to 2000 active COVID-19 cases reported across the country, India is under a total lockdown for 21 days that started March 24th. Prime Minister Narendra Modi strictly called upon citizens to stay at home to contain the spread of the novel virus through social contact. Maharashtra, with one of the highest reported positive cases, has imposed Section 144 in order to fight the virus, banning the gathering of five or more people and closing down everything with only the exception of essential services. However, the testing rates remain worrying in India with only around 21 people tested per…

With close to 2000 active COVID-19 cases reported across the country, India is under a total lockdown for 21 days that started March 24th. Prime Minister Narendra Modi strictly called upon citizens to stay at home to contain the spread of the novel virus through social contact. Maharashtra, with one of the highest reported positive cases, has imposed Section 144 in order to fight the virus, banning the gathering of five or more people and closing down everything with only the exception of essential services. However, the testing rates remain worrying in India with only around 21 people tested per…

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’ --…

Since India imposed a complete three-week lock down of the country, there has been a lot of discussion on the desperate plight of its migrant workers who have spread themselves thin across the country, in search of their daily bread. When the lockdown was announced, thousands of them tried to get back to their hometowns using whatever means of transport was available, and more often than not, on foot. In Chennai alone on Sunday night, when the first 14-hour lockdown took place, local government figures revealed about 4,500 workers were stuck at the city's railway station, unable to return home.…

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.…