NAVIGATING through Pehalwan Chowk in Batla House in South Delhi was like being in a maze. The narrow lanes with small shops, eateries and residential buildings on either side, the open drains, the piles of garbage, slushy “roads”, and the incessant blaring of horns left us dizzy. Yet, we kept walking in the direction of the banks of the Yamuna—following the stench—in search of stories; to meet people, particularly women, who are bearing the brunt of climate change, and who, despite not knowing the magnitude of the crisis or its root cause, are disproportionately impacted by it.
A few men followed us—the “media waale”—urging us to highlight their issues. Women stepping out of their houses to buy cans of drinking water looked at us curiously—it was humid, and we were drenched in sweat.
A little ahead—in an area known as “bees foota”—the lanes became narrower and government apathy was even more apparent. A few children led us to the basti that had come up on the banks of a non-existent Yamuna—the river here was visible only in patches; the remaining area was all slush and mud. On the left, there was a nearly three-foot tall pile of garbage that had accumulated on the banks after a downpour on June 28. Mosquitoes and flies were buzzing around; the stench was unbearable. “We can’t eat even one morsel without feeling nauseous,” said Regina Khatoon, 40.
Originally from Bihar, she moved to Delhi two years ago after her husband remarried. She lives in a tiny room with her three children—her elder son, 18, is mentally challenged; her daughter is 15 and her younger son is 11. Their educational journey came to an abrupt halt during the pandemic, and it ended after they moved to Delhi.
Denne historien er fra July 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra July 21, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Trump, Up And Charging
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Post and Past the Oil in Azerbaijan
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Bhutto's Nehru Story
Nehru's principle of \"compromise and argument\" remains the only workable formula for South Asian leaders
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The Wind Knocked
THE wind knocked on the door. Hesitantly. Wanting to be let in. It had heard the murmuring of the flames. And knew that there was a fire. The wind sought shelter.
The Way Home
“We comfort ourselves by reliving memories of protection. Something closed must retain our memories, while leaving them their original value as images. Memories of the outside world will never have the same tonality as those of home and, by recalling these memories, we add to our store of dreams; we are never real historians, but always near poets, and our emotion is perhaps nothing but an expression of a poetry that was lost.”—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space
The War Artist
Cartoonist and journalist Joe Sacco is in search of the truths distorted by conventional narratives
Mining Adivasi Votes
If the BJP manages to win Jharkhand, it will be the third mineral-rich state after Odisha and Chhattisgarh that will fall into the party's kitty
Unequal Republic
Political parties make promises of equal represention to women, but patriarchy continues to dominate electoral democracy