As the newest wave of COVID continues to affect communities throughout India, ACORN India members are speaking out against police misconduct, which is disproportionally affecting vulnerable communities.

ACORN India was recently featured in one of the country’s most popular newspapers. Dharmendra Kumar, of the ACORN India affiliate and nonprofit Janhapal, spoke about the circumstances of the most recent wave in India, and how it affects the most vulnerable communities.

“Our ground experience shows police target the poor, marginalized and those who cannot speak up…

As micro-containment zones are being set up and markets shut, the police are in charge on the streets. On the pretext of pandemic policing they victimize hawkers, pedestrians and the poor,”

– Telegraph India

Local police have been scrutinized for using arbitrary and heavy-handed tactics against marginalized communities under the guise of COVID violations. In one study, cases against pedestrians increased from 50 per cent in the first lockdown to 89 per cent during the third lockdown.

As the COVID crisis in India continues, ACORN India and affiliates are stepping in to help marginalized and vulnerable communities. Donate to ACORN India here, or check out the information below.

As India remains gripped in the latest coronavirus upsurge, members of ACORN India have stepped in around the country to provide food supplies, resources, and quarantine support.

In Delhi, contract workers were recently granted two months of food rations after a push from nonprofit groups like ACORN India to provide resources for informal workers and those left behind by the government during the pandemic.

Despite these measures, communities affected by COVID are still in need. As Hawkers Joint Action Committee and ACORN ally Dharmendra Kumar points out:

“Later generations of migrants do not have documentation in Delhi or the place of origin. Government schemes generally favour property owners, and without their cooperation you can’t get a ration card. Most people eligible for rations are tenants.”

– Telegraph India

ACORN India, in affiliation with Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) and the nonprofit Janpahal, has stepped in to provide additional support.

ACORN India has also been coordinating efforts and community outreach through a COVID Handbook, which details the testing centers, local hospital information, and traceable contacts for cab drivers who can be called on to transport members of the community to COVID testing sites. This handbook also shares information on a tip hotline for reporting scams related to COVID, such as fake medicine, ambulance pricing scams, and cases of oxygen hoarding.

Despite their efforts, ACORN India cannot fight COVID alone. If you’re interested in helping out our organizers, check out the link below:

As New Delhi prepares for another lockdown, street vendors and informal works are often the ones who pay the highest price.

Dharmendra Kumar, member of the Delhi chapter of Hawkers’ Joint Action Committee, an ACORN affiliate, recently spoke about the lack of adequate medical supplies:

This shortage is across the city and predictably the marginalised groups are the most affected. As far as street vendors are concerned, with most of them being migrants, there are not many people here whom they can approach for assistance – especially in today’s time when even the well-off groups are finding themselves helpless.

Kumar was also quoted as urging the Modi government to provide a one-time cash assistance to workers who are hardest hit by the pandemic.

To support the Hawker’s Joint Action Committee, check out the link below to donate.

BBC featured an update on the pandemic in Dharavi, where public health programs and aid from organizations such as ACORN have helped decrease infections and deaths. As one of the most intensely packed places on earth, it is incredibly positive news to see that cases and deaths are down. Local leaders attribute this to local health workers who know the slum well and are able to go door to door, and aid from NGO’s and civil society.

“I would put this down to about 6,000 health workers combing every street, doing tests…since they know the slums, they are able to track all the cases,” says ACORN organizer Vinod Shetty. “It’s mainly been civil society and NGO’s which are responsible for the feeding of the whole of Dharavi and the kind of support that was given at the worst possible time. It was civil society, social network of organizations that rose to the occasion and kept the kitchens running.”

Listen to the full story on the BBC.

Written by Seema Rajpal June 23rd, 2020 from Edex Live

Hyderabad-based Gomathi Iyer is doing some unforgettable covers on Instagram and before the lockdown, was helping girls in one of the largest slums in the world, Dharavi in Mumbai learn to sing.

Soutik Biswas June 23rd, 2020 from BBC News

In one of the world’s most congested shanty towns, social distancing is not a luxury people can afford. And density is a friend of the coronavirus.

Imagine more than 500,000 people spread over 2.5 grubby sq km, less than a square mile. That’s a population larger than Manchester living in an area smaller than Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

Laxmi Kamble our  frontline field coordinator  for distributing food provisions during covid 19 featured in the Washington Post story on Dharavi.  In One of the World’s Largest Slums, the Fight Against Coronavirus has Turned into a Struggle to Survive.