-Sunday Pioneer A cluster of villages engaged in weaving the exquisite Benarasi sarees is in the midst of a serious health crisis. More than 1 lakh people from this once prosperous region have fallen prey to aggressive tuberculosis. Poor living conditions, working in dark rooms and constant inhalation of minute silk threads have weakened the lungs of these artisans. With an average monthly income of not more than Rs3,000, it is...
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ILO says poor laws aid the abuse of maids -Neetu Chandra
-DailyMail.Co.Uk Millions of domestic workers in Indian homes are a part of an informal and "invisible" workforce due to absence of a specific legislation meant for their protection, the International Labour Organisation said on Wednesday. The number of maids has gone up by nearly 70 per cent from 2001 to 2010 with an estimated 10 million maids and nannies in India, the ILO says. According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2004-05, there...
More »Cabinet must quickly approve national policy on domestic workers: NGOs, activists
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The draft national policy on domestic workers, awaiting the Union Cabinet's nod, must be approved at the earliest. Activists and NGOs echoed this view at a panel discussion on Wednesday. "A national policy is the first step towards ensuring rights for domestic workers. It is also the first step before legislation is enacted. But despite our persistent efforts, progress is so slow," said Varghese Theckanath, convenor,...
More »Whose Forest is it Anyway?-Shirish Khare
-Tehelka In their struggle for forest rights, the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh have adopted a form of protest dating back to the 1930s, says Shirish Khare An idol placed under a banyan tree passes for a temple in Masna village in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh. Surrounded by dense forests, the village is inhabited by the "primitive" Baiga tribe. "The government has taken over our land and enclosed it with barbed...
More »Small and sustainable-Sevanti Ninan
-The Hoot Kutch's first FM radio channel, Saiyere Jo Radio, begun by a women's collective, costs Rs 25000 a month to run, transmission costs included. SEVANTI NINAN visits the Bimsar radio station. Sitaben Rabbari is in some ways the mainstay of Saiyere Jo Radio. The radio station which puts out this transmission is located in a tiny building given by her on rent, next to where she lives. She is the...
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