lockdown
West Bengal’s famous handloom industry in peril
The rich heritage of handloom of West Bengal is dying a rapid death due to factors linked to the lockdown, migration, competition from powerlooms and Government negligence.
Bird feathers flocked together at this Gujarat library
Esha Munshi of Ahmedabad runs a rare online library that serves as a unique repository on birds and their feathers.
Boom in Kashmir’s bloom business
Stuck at home in the pandemic, many Kashmiris became avid gardeners and are now turning their passion into a business by transforming their backyard patches into plant nurseries.
Lockdown initiative links villagers to social welfare benefits
Mission Gaurav, an initiative to support rural households during the lockdown, makes villagers aware of various government welfare schemes and helps them access the entitlements.
Nutritious meals ensure food security of marginalized during lockdown
Distribution of cooked meals sustain vulnerable tribes, the differently-abled and other needy people who do not have the resources to meet their basic needs
Lockdown program helps villagers access welfare schemes
An initiative launched to offer relief during lockdown has helped returned migrants and those who lost their livelihood access government’s social welfare schemes
Helping hands pull Jharkhand farmers from the brink
Farmers who were in the brink of starvation during lockdown were identified through vulnerable mapping. With quality seeds and training in better practices, they are reaping better yields
How rural India showed resilience, synergy during lockdown
Republic Day is an ideal occasion to celebrate rural India’s positive progress. VillageSquare recollects how communities used the lockdown productively, despite difficulties and loss of livelihoods.
In Kashmir, no migrants to reap rice harvest
Inexpensive migrant laborers work the paddy fields in Central Kashmir. As they have left due to the lockdown, farmers and their families are stepping in to harvest the crop
Returned migrants take to smuggling for want of livelihood
In villages of West Bengal close to the Indo – Bangladesh border, migrants back home during the lockdown have been lured into smuggling for financial sustenance
Online classes spell end of education for rural girls
With boys getting preference to use the single multimedia phone at home, girls from poor rural households have discontinued studies, resigning themselves to an early marriage
Lockdown threw new hardships along nomadic herders’ paths
Their migration towards summer pastures coinciding with the first lockdown, and with severe restrictions on movement, pastoralists lacked access to pastures, water and fodder, besides facing discrimination
Adivasi communities restore common wells during lockdown
When repeated requests for better access to drinking water failed, members of a women’s collective convinced returned migrant youth to restructure community wells during lockdown
Returned migrants: A pause or the end of a dream?
Lockdown has forced migrant workers to return home. Left with no cash savings and duped of overdue wages, their future seems uncertain more than ever
Supply to institutions helps FPOs sell mangoes during lockdown
The lockdown disrupted the supply of an FPO’s carbide-free mangoes to its market in Ahmedabad. Collective action by Anand’s institutional staff enabled delivery of mangoes directly to consumers
Multi-pronged plan would help Northeast create sustainable economy
The Northeast, with its past social instability and lack of livelihood avenues lags in development. The pandemic gives the region an opportunity to develop a new economy
Returned migrants: Despair and coping
Distance to host city, commitment of employer and livelihood opportunity at native village help returned workers decide on post-lockdown migration. Till then they cope with available resources
Women contribute grains to support vulnerable families during lockdown
With no labor work during lockdown, many women in remote villages lacked essentials to feed their family. Fellow women helped them by building a food bank with contributions
Decentralized administration will prevent post-lockdown rural crisis
Social and behavioral aspects, besides economic and medical dimensions of the migrants need to be considered, to avoid cracks on existing rural fault lines
Stranded Chakmas in Tiruppur fear bleak prospects
With knitwear industry grinding to a halt, Chakma tribes who had migrated to Tamil Nadu from northeastern states to avoid poverty, find themselves in the same challenging situation