-Down to Earth The workers reportedly began their journey on March 23, 2020, with some accompanied by their wives, children Thousands of migrant workers in Gujarat are undertaking long journeys to their native villages on foot. The workers, mostly tribals, travelled upwards of 250 kilometres, in the absence of public transport. Migrant workers are forced to take this step after the Union government initiated a janata (people’s) curfew and subsequently, a 21-day...
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Coronavirus outbreak: Food supply shadow on the poorest -Basant Kumar Mohanty
-The Telegraph As the virus spreads and cases mount, the supply chain involving agricultural inputs, production, transportation and shipping will be disrupted Thirty per cent of India’s lowest income class, already undernourished, could be hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic, going by the analysis of an official report and a warning from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. What might further aggravate the situation for the country’s working class, experts and...
More »Coronavirus pandemic is ominous news for India’s rabi crops and farm-to-food chain -Mekhala Krishnamurthy
-ThePrint.in During the coronavirus crisis, income support platforms must be utilised by both state and the Centre. Social distancing should be a norm in wheat procurement mandis. As India goes into a 21-day lockdown, the Narendra Modi government has sought to reassure an anxious public that the country has multiple times the required reserve of food grains to tide over the crisis. There have also been urgent calls for both central and...
More »‘What will we eat?’ labourers and people from unorganised sectors stare at uncertain future -Deep Mukherjee
-The Indian Express As a result of the lockdown, thousands, including daily wage labourers, street vendors and those in the unorganised sector, are staring at a massive crisis, with many without the means to even buy food. Jaipur: It’s been an unusual Monday afternoon for Dharmanath Sapera, who, instead of his usual routine of collecting scrap or working at construction sites, is spending the day worrying about arranging the next day’s meal...
More »India cannot fight coronavirus without taking into account its class and caste divisions -Anup Agarwal & Yogesh Jain
-Scroll.in The country must rethink its strategy of epidemic management to be more inclusive of the marginalised sections of the society. How do you discuss self quarantine with a person sharing a tiny shanty with 10 people in a slum? How do you advise social distancing to a manual scavenger? How do you tell an Adivasi, who struggles for one meal a day, to prioritise hand sanitisers? How do you educate tuberculosis...
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