Society

“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…

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…

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…

Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union shares the problems faced by daily wagers during lockdown. RJ Asha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz speaks to Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union, about the many problems that daily wage labourers are facing during lockdown and the efforts to ease their difficulties. Gopal says they are managing to keep the Union’s Yeshwanthpur branch running by pitching in with their own money. The Union is trying its best to address the workers’ demands which the  government has done nothing to address. For now, the Union is helping them…

In the concluding part of this two-part series, we look at what prevented builders and the government from rushing to the aid of construction labourers during the lockdown. In Part 1 'Why Bhuvilal Mahato stayed back in Bengaluru' we saw how migrant workers who were looked after by their employers, did not feel the need to leave the city. For migrant workers in Bengaluru, the promise of deliverance after a traumatic locked down lasted briefly. No sooner did Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announce shramik special trains to ferry them back to their States, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’…

Migrant workers from Bihar wait at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, only to be turned back by the BBMP after three days, in early May. Pic Credit: Senthil S Although construction activity in Bengaluru got a go-ahead, Ramachandra returned to his family in Bihar during that brief window when the government ran trains for migrant workers. He had started work at a construction site six months ago. His new home was in a labour camp in Ulsoor, with 400 other workers. Though he had worked through March, he was not paid. The contractor said the builder had not paid him.…

A study conducted in 2016 by the Tamil Nadu State Labour Department estimated that around 1.94 lakhs migrant workers live and work in Chennai. Accounting for the neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur, the number goes up to around 5 lakhs, making up just over 50% of the migrant labour workforce in the state. A vast majority of them have been struggling as they look for options to survive in the city in the wake of the COVID crisis and the resulting lockdown. Some have managed to leave for their home towns, but for many others who are hoping to…

In this series, individuals, citizen groups and RWAs explain how they have dealt with the COVID-19 crisis in a constructive manner. In the seventh part of the series, a resident of Jakkur describes how her gated community supported those in need. On March 22, the day our Prime Minister called for Janta Curfew, we sensed the challenge ahead was not going to end anytime soon. The Janta Curfew gave a sneak peek into the potential problems during the long haul. It also made me ask - what can each individual do to minimise these problems?   Around that time, my husband…

For all outward appearances, Neelam (name changed to protect identity) has it all - a working husband, a couple of young and bright children, and a good job for herself. Look deeper, and one finds that her husband is an alcoholic who abuses her regularly.  Not having got his supply of booze since the lockdown started, he has become even more unbearable, screaming and shouting at her for little or no reason... He has also been encouraging their children to abuse her verbally.  Neelam is now worried that, with the government allowing sale of liquor, his abuse may take another…

In Varanasi, it is death that gives one that sense of normalcy. The rising flames from the pyres at Manikarnika Ghat on the banks of the Ganga are as much a sign of the city’s spiritual legacy for all Indians, as they are that life and times in this holy city are as ordained. When the flames die, as they have died now, it indicates that something has gone very wrong. The common sight not so long ago, on the stretch from Lahura Beer crossing to Maidagin, of a corpse wrapped in shiny shroud atop a vehicle, has become a…