Pandemic

In May, amidst the nationwide lockdown, two Asiaville journalists ventured on a 600-km journey on bicycles from Delhi to Lucknow to cover the impact of the lockdown - the biggest exodus of Indians since partition. The ground reported story was broadcast live on Asiaville's social media platforms and inspired citizens and organisations to step in to help the migrants and their affected families.

Think Pragati's analysts discuss the costs and logistical issues involved in delivering a COVID-19 vaccine in India. The episode also delves into how India can prioritise parts of the population to ensure an effective response.The forward-looking episode is one of the most informative takes on vaccine delivery in India, where resources in terms of costs and logistical infrastructure are severely constrained.

Manegav Bazar in Bhandara district of Maharashtra is a rarity in the state – zero COVID-19 cases. Max Maharashtra speaks to Rita Tai Sukhdev, the sarpanch of the village, to find the winning formula. What they found was a pro-active initiated disaster management committee, strict implementation of guidelines, door-to-door visits for motivation and screening by youth-volunteers and quarantine facilities at a local school for migrants returning to the villages. The story served as an inspiration for other districts in the country as an example of how the community at the local level can come together to combat the Coronavirus. Especially when the state's response to the challenge has been tardy and ineffective.

The Caravan reports on the state of frontline workers who have been forced to rise up in protest even as they lead the battle against the pandemic. Faced with unacceptable working conditions, inadequate staffing, low salaries, long hours of work, lack of PPEs, etc, they had reached the end of the tether. The government’s response to their issues have been intimidation or apathy.The story brought the abysmal state of India’s healthcare workers, accentuated by the pandemic, to the fore. It highlighted the almost criminal negligence of India’s health infrastructure for the greater part of seven decades and the price that is being paid now for the continued apathy and inattention.

The COVID lockdown and the recent floods have ensured that in Assam’s Sualkuchi town, handloom weavers have faced one of the most crippling financial downturns in their history. The traditional weavers, whose creations are legendary for their unique weaves and intricate designs, have been unable to cope with the fallout. EastMojo reports that other than the economic fallout, the impact is also a “socio-cultural catastrophe”, as handloom has an overwhelming presence in the lives of people. After EastMojo's report, individual donors directly approached the reporter to send donations to the weavers who were affected.

Patanjali claimed that it had found a "cure" for COVID-19 that had cleared clinical trials. However, the AYUSH Ministry said that they had allowed the sale of the products only as an immunity booster and not as a medicinal cure for Covid-19. Down To Earth (DTE) investigated Patanjali's claims and reported on their trial design. DTE was the first to break through the misinformation to expose how the AYUSH ministry had allowed the trial design to be kept vague so that Patanjali could market the products to its advantage. DTE also spoke with the hospitals conducting the trials and found out that they were incomplete. The story was eventually able to junk Patanjali's claims.

The Caravan argues that the "compulsory" use of technology ostensibly to trace and fight the Covid pandemic - like the Aarogya Setu app - can be misused by the agencies of the state. It can lead to the state exercising the power of exclusion and denial of service, upon the citizen's refusal to install the app. More dangerously, the app can be used for surveillance against the citizen. The time of the Covid has seen governments of countries across the world designing very intrusive systems for battling the dire public-health emergency. However, as this story points, it may, even if inadvertently, have serious consequences on a citizen’s right to privacy and fundamental liberties.

The Caravan chronicles the epic journey of three contract workers in Aligarh - Anil Singh, Manjit Singh and Prem Kumar - who cycled more than 900-kms to reach their respective villages in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Deprived of income, food and shelter following the lockdown, they took to the roads to reach the relative safety of their homes. This deep-reported story brought out the trauma of the migrants in vivid detail and seared their struggles on the national consciousness.

The Ken reported on how fake certifications and irregularities in tendering process compromised procurement of critical medical equipment like ventilators during the pandemic. The Ken's story forced the Delhi bureaucracy to take note of the issue and immediately change, and plug the holes, in the procurement process.

Jagadish Yadav from Reva in Madhya Pradesh used the CGNet Swara helpline to inform listeners that over 1,000 people from Reva district had not received ration and food supplies from the administration during the lockdown. This also included those who did not have ration cards. After his message was published, listeners reached out to the District Collector who helped the affected people with food rations. Similar stories were also shared by people in Pune and Silvassa in Dadra and Nagar Haveli who were stuck without food supplies during the lockdown and received help immediately after they recorded their messages on the CGNet Swara helpline.

The ground report details the impact of the lockdown on sugarcane factory workers in Maharashtra and how they were unable to reach the relative safety of their homes due to the lack of support from the factory owners and the government. The story helped draw the attention of the public, the sugar factory owners, and the administration to the plight of these workers.

The Lede reported on the struggles of Indian Covid-positive migrant workers in the UAE who were unable to find facilities to quarantine safely. The Indian Embassy in UAE, in response to The Lede's story, arranged safe spaces in Dubai to enable the workers to quarantine themselves.