ON APRIL 12, AROUND 80 VOLUNTEERS gathered at St. Joseph’s College in central Bengaluru to support the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Hasirudala’s initiative to provide dry rations to waste pickers and other vulnerable communities in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka.
They got busy packing two kinds of kits. The larger kit contained 25 kilograms of rice, 5 kg of dal, a litre of oil, 1 kg each of sugar and salt, 500 gm each of chilli powder and tea powder and two bars of soap. The smaller kit contained 10 kg of rice and 2 kg of dal and the same quantities of the other items.
The volunteers said the large kit could sustain a family of four or five people for slightly over a month, while the smaller kit could sustain a family for 10-15 days.
Even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 21-day lockdown on March 24, Hasirudala began to galvanise its network to provide rations to waste pickers.
“Initially we worked from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard in Yeshwantpur before moving to St. Joseph’s College on April 3. Commodities bought wholesale are packed and distributed from here. Now, we are also reaching out directly to rice mills as the APMCs do not have sufficient rice,” said Lakshmi Karunakaran, programme director at Hasirudala.
Leading an alliance of NGOs called With Bengaluru, Hasirudala utilised donations from both individuals and corporates to sustain this initiative, which extended beyond the network of waste pickers identified by it.
As of April 12, the last day of the initiative, it had distributed nearly 20,000 large and small ration kits in Bengaluru and a few other towns in Karnataka, thus taking care of the food requirements of 75,000 to 80,000 persons.
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin May 08, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye FRONTLINE dergisinin May 08, 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
How Not To Handle An Epidemic
The lockdowns were meant to buy time to put in place appropriate health measures and contain the coronavirus’ spread, but they have failed to achieve the objective and heaped immense misery on the marginalised sections of society. India is still in the exponential phase of the COVID-19 infection and community transmission is a reality that the government refuses to accept.
Tragedy on foot
As the COVID-19-induced lockdown cuts the ground beneath their feet in Tamil Nadu, thousands of migrant workers are trudging along the highway to the relative safety of their upcountry homes.
Sarpanchs as game changers
Odisha manages to keep COVID-19 well under control because of the strong participation of panchayati raj institutions and the community at the grass-roots level under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Scapegoating China
As the COVID-19 death rate spikes and the economy tanks in the United States, Donald Trump and his advisers target China and the World Health Organisation with an eye to winning the forthcoming presidential election.
New worries
Kerala’s measured approach to the pandemic and lockdown has yielded results. But it still has to grapple with their huge economic impact on its economy, which it feels the Centre’s special financial relief package does little to alleviate.
No love lost for labour
Taking advantage of the lockdown and the inability of workers to organise protests, many State governments introduce sweeping changes to labour laws to the detriment of workers on the pretext of reviving production and boosting the economy.
Capital's Malthusian moment
In a world that needs substantial reorienting of production and distribution, Indian capital is resorting to a militant form of moribund neoliberalism to overcome its current crisis. In this pursuit of profit, it is ready and willing to throw into mortal peril millions whom it adjudicates as not worth their means—an admixture of social Darwinism born of capital’s avarice and brutalism spawned by Hindutva. .
Understanding migration
When governments and their plans are found to be blatantly wanting in addressing reverse migration, exercises such as the Ekta Parishad’s survey of migrant workers throughout India can be useful to work out creative long-lasting solutions.
Waiting for Jabalpur moment
The Supreme Court’s role in ensuring executive accountability during the ongoing lockdown leaves much to be desired. Standing in shining contrast is the record of some High Courts.
An empty package
The Modi regime, which has been unable to control the COVID-19 infection, restore economic activity and provide relief to millions exposed to starvation, trains its sights on Indian democracy, making use of the panic generated by fear and a lockdown that forecloses paths of resistance.
