The community members of Mubarakpur and Danapur communicated their distress and anxieties of having to die of starvation if food supplies did not reach them any sooner. Understanding the emergency of the situation, SEWA aagewans redirected their efforts and channelled in supplies from the government and distributed it among community members by the ward councillor.
Families living in lane number 200 of Jahangirpuri’s B Block had always stepped inside their homes with muddy shoes. Dirty water overflowing from clogged drains along the lane would meander down, making its way inside the homes of those living on the ground floor.
B1 jhuggi (slum) was established around 1984 as part of Raghubir Nagar, which lies in West Delhi. For over 10 years now, the main road, on the corner of which B1 jhuggi is settled, has had streetlights. Over the years, these have been upgraded on multiple occasions, but they function erratically, leading to accidents, multiple cases of theft, as well as harassment.
Pushpa behen, 40, was born in Benaras, far away from the city of Dehradun, where she currently lives. She had finished her 10th class in the year 1999, when she was married off. “He was only 8th pass and drove trucks for a living.”, she says. After her marriage, she had to shift to a region completely unfamiliar to her own lived experience.
Rupali behen, is a Tant weaver from Phulia, West Bengal, which is known for its high quality sarees throughout Bengal and the world. A typical day in her life means spending long hours at her loom, sometimes 7-8 hours at a stretch.
Traditional lac jewellery is crafted in fire with the original lac extract of a Kusum tree, and is a speciality of Rajasthan. The market share of this artform has shrunk visibly due to the rising demand and supply of chemical lac products.
Suman behen is a 36-year-old mother of four, wife, and micro-entrepreneur in Jahangir Puri. About 6 months ago, she purchased an e-rickshaw and began a driving service. Being her own employer allows her to earn a living and prioritize her family.
The last week of June saw more and more migrant workers return to their villages from red zone cities. They were all assigned to quarantine centres for 14 days. Many wouldn’t abide, and were found roaming in their villages.
