-SANDRP.in The hilly state of Uttarakhand has been witnessing severe weather conditions for most of April and first week of May 2020. The repeated incidents of rainfall, snowfall, and hailstorm have hit the mountain farmers hard. Snow, rain, hailstorm destroys cash and food crops On April 14, 2020 the Yamuna and Ganga valley faced severe hailstorm affecting horticulture produce of apple, apricot, peach, plum, pear and vegetable crops including tomato, potato, peas and...

-The Indian Express Diverting rice to produce ethanol during the pandemic is unethical. Surplus grains should be used to feed those in distress. In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and a country-wide lockdown came an announcement that was difficult to believe. The press release said the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) chaired by the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas has decided to use “surplus” rice available with the Food...

-The New Indian Express A majority of migrant workers in Surat and Ahmedabad in Gujarat lack access to urban documentation, showed a report by Aajeevika Bureau, an NGO working with migrant communities. NEW DELHI: A majority of migrant workers in the two major migrant destinations Surat and Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat lack access to urban documentation, showed a report by Aajeevika Bureau, an NGO working with migrant communities. While Ahmedabad has...

-The Indian Express The problems were flagged by personnel from Civil Lines police station, which surveyed two shelters at Majnu ka Tilla and the posh Civil Lines. More than 15 shelter homes were assessed by the police. New Delhi: “Fans not working and no power back-up; sanitisation of toilets rarely done; most migrants want to leave as their families cannot survive; rude behaviour of civil defence staff; food quality not good; no...

-The Hindu Lockdown has left about 42% with no ration and 33% were stuck in cities with no access to food, water, and money, shows research done by IIPS, Mumbai Bengaluru: Migrant workers, who constitute about 50% of the urban population and many of whom are engaged in what are called “3D jobs” (dirty, dangerous and demeaning) are likely to face job and livelihood crisis owing to COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings...