One year on, access to subsidised food remains a crucial challenge for migrant workers
The government’s One Nation, One Ration Card scheme has operational difficulties, a survey in Ahmedabad finds. Migrant workers in Ahmedad. | Aajeevika Bureau.
When Narendra Modi imposed a lockdown on March 24 last year to prevent the spread of Covid-19, it had a brutal impact on millions of India’s informal workers. Left overnight without the daily-wage jobs that sustained them, many of them did not have the documents necessary to access social security benefits – most notably, subsidised food through the public distribution system.
Among them was Madhumita, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur, who lives in Ahmedabad. “We had to mortgage our jewellery,” she said.”We have not yet recovered it six months on. Work is not regularly available and buying food and other daily essentials is becoming expensive. We even have to buy drinking water.’
APPEAL: Amir Khan is aiming to raise at least £100,000 though his charitable foundation AMIR Khan has launched an appeal to help India in its fight against coronavirus which is spreading rapidly across the nation. In one week, India reported more than two million coronavirus cases and it is estimated that one person is dying every four seconds in New Delhi, the nation’s capital. In a bid to battle the surge in cases, the Bolton-born boxing champion has announced details of an emergency appeal which he hopes will help ensure that India’s most vulnerable get the help they need.
+ Amir Khan has launched an emergency fundraising appeal for the dire situation in India. The second-most populous country saw COVID-19 cases has skyrocketed, with over 400,000 cases recorded in 24 hours alone: an increase of 2 million+ cases in a single week.
In partnership with Mumbai-based NGO network, Dasra, and UK-based charity, One Family Global, the Amir Khan Foundation has identified five partner organisations on the ground, who are working tirelessly to provide critical relief.
The partner organisations – Swasti, SaveLIFE Foundation, Aajeevika Bureau, Swasth Foundation and Goonj – work across India’s major regions, including Bangalore, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Mumbai. Together, they offer crucial support in the form of hospital oxygen concentrators for hospitals; testing communities for co-morbidities; providing support to migrant communities; and delivering food and healthcare.
Bolton boxing champ Amir Khan urges people to donate to his Indian emergency appeal If you look at the hospitals now, they are full. Patients are being turned away and there s very little oxygen there.
Professional boxer Amir Khan has launched an emergency appeal to help provide support towards India s coronavirus crisis (Image: Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
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