-Press release by Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch dated 26th April, 2020 A large number of civil society organisations came forward to respond quickly to the lockdown-induced hunger crisis among the informal sector workers in Gurgaon. Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch (GNEM), an organisation working among the unorganised workers, started distributing an average of 350 ration kits per day since 27th March, 2020, the third day of the lockdown, and about 25,000 cooked...

-The Hindu An opening up has to be accompanied by an increase in relief budget for the most vulnerable After a 39-day lockdown, what will be the shape of things to come? How should one strike a balance between ensuring livelihoods, minimising strife, and maintaining social distancing? In a discussion moderated by G. Ananthakrishnan, Reetika Khera, and Giridhar R. Babu examine the options. Edited excerpts: * With less than a fortnight left for...

-The Hindu The government has an opportunity to help farmers who are battling declining demand and lower prices Social distancing and living under a lockdown appear to be the only effective ways of dealing with the pandemic. As India lacks the resources to significantly ramp up testing, imposing a lockdown was the government’s preferred option. Although there is limited evidence to suggest that this strategy may be working in containing the spread...

-NDTV Spraying chemicals on migrant workers to sanitize them as in Uttar Pradesh. Locking them up in a shed as in Bihar. Opening temporary jails for them as in Haryana. Herding them into ill-equipped quarantine centers across national highways. A Home Ministry circular invoking the penal provisions of the National Disaster Management Act to imprison such defaulters. India has shamed itself in its utterly inhuman treatment of migrant workers - jobless,...

-PTI/ Hindustan Times The Delhi HC order sought the AAP government and EDMC’s responses on a plea seeking direction to authorities to re-open the relief camp at Idgah in Mustafabad and provide proper food supplies, adequate water, sanitation and security to the victims. The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the AAP government to ensure victims of the recent northeast Delhi riots, who may be homeless at the moment, are provided with...