I LEFT DELHI on May 16 and after three days of walking and hitching rides, reached Ratanpur Kunda village in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, on May 18. A group I met on my way had allowed me to accompany them to their village. Brij Kishore and Jagdish, brothers working in Haryana, were returning with their families and friends. I was curious to see what awaited those who returned to their villages after travelling hundreds and thousands of kilometres. We reached their home in Ratanpur Kunda at about 11:30 pm and crashed.
MAY 19: SHAHJAHANPUR
9:00 am: My interactions with the family made me realise that the main source of work in the village at a short notice could only be daily wage jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Rajbir, who lives next door and returned to the village from Delhi in March, told me that a road was being laid on the outskirts of the village and people were being employed to work under MGNREGA. He decided to go and I accompanied him. We reached there to find that the contractor needed just seven-eight people. The village has about 500 families and almost each has a member who returned after the lockdown and would require a job.
12:00 noon: Rajbir and I returned home empty-handed. I inquired about people who were earning from other means. I visited Ram Gopal, 70, who lives nearby and earns ₹200 a day by tilling land. I also chatted with Sarju, one of the relatives to return with Brij Kishore and Jagdish after the lockdown. Sarju had returned from Delhi after getting four fingers of his right hand severed in an industrial accident in December 2019. His employer had paid for his treatment and the fingers had been reattached but the grip was somewhat lacking. The lockdown started as he was trying to begin work again and he had to return.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 16, 2020-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 16, 2020-Ausgabe von Down To Earth.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Trade On Emissions
EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on imports, is designed to protect European industries in the guise of climate action.
'The project will facilitate physical and cultural decimation of indigenous people'
The Great Nicobar Project has all the hallmarks of a disaster-seismic, ecological, human. Why did it get the go-ahead?
TASTE IT RED
Popularity of Karnataka's red jackfruit shows how biodiversity can be conserved by ensuring that communities benefit from it
MANY MYTHS OF CHIPKO
Misconceptions about the Chipko movement have overshadowed its true objectives.
The politics and economics of mpox
Africa's mpox epidemic stems from delayed responses, neglect of its health risks and the stark vaccine apartheid
Emerging risks
Even as the world gets set to eliminate substances threatening the ozone layer, climate change and space advancement pose new challenges.
JOINING THE CARBON CLUB
India's carbon market will soon be a reality, but will it fulfil its aim of reducing emissions? A report by PARTH KUMAR and MANAS AGRAWAL
Turn a new leaf
Scientists join hands to predict climate future of India's tropical forests
Festering troubles
The Democratic Republic of Congo struggles to contain mpox amid vaccine delays, conflict and fragile healthcare.
India sees unusual monsoon patterns
THE 2024 southwest monsoon has, between June 1 and September 1, led to excess rainfall in western and southern states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while others like Nagaland, Manipur and Punjab recorded a deficit.