More step up to help poor hard hit by India's lockdown, even as middle class faces a road paved with uncertainty ahead
NEW DELHI - Mr Mustafa Quraishi, a photographer, drives 100 to 120km every day amid the world's largest lockdown.
The photographer is always accompanied by a policeman to prevent mobs of hungry people making a mad dash for the food and water. Still, the lockdown, which started March 25, has been particularly hard on the poor, who have little or no savings to stock up on essentials at a time of wage disruptions. This has ranged from distributing food packets to donating money, or even groups of friends or like-minded people setting up temporary kitchens to provide cooked food.
As government help has expanded with food and cash transfers, she and her group of friends have shut down the kitchen and are now distributing rice and other provisions to people who remain ineligible for any government benefits.LACK OF ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER Even as multiple efforts are on to feed and provide a safety net for the poor, they still remain disadvantaged when it comes to safeguarding themselves against the highly contagious virus.
"Will they use whatever little water is available to them for daily purposes such as drinking, cooking and bathing, or washing hands repeatedly?" said Mr Samrat Basak, the director of the Urban Water Programme at World Resources Institute India."In such cases, washing hands becomes a luxury." The Indian Express newspaper has announced 10 to 30 per cent cut in salaries, with the top bosses taking a 100 per cent salary cut to help the newspaper tide over the lockdown period.
"My feeling is job cuts will start taking place from the end of April. Initially, it will not be openly done but people would be told informally to look out for jobs. The middle class are definitely not sure what will happen to them." "We will continue to focus on 'over-preparedness' at the district level, and continued focus on surveillance, contact tracing and patient management. This includes enhancing supply of isolation beds, ICU beds, ventilator and PPE sets," said a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup.
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