The Observer Volume 20 Issue 05

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An IIJNM publication

West Bengal's tribal football talent remains unnoticed due to poverty and corruption | P 3

Vol 20, Issue 5

Thursday, December 1 0, 2020

https://issuu.com/theweeklyobserver Website: http://www.theweeklyobserver.in

Need to build adequate footpaths for pedestrians along with separate spaces for hawkers | P 3

domestic help China standoff harms notWith allowed, Pandemic India’s fishing sector Fatigue hits women Exports dip 90%; Apartment associations’ decision puts extra burden

fishermen, staff, traders in trouble

By Nishita Agath

T

he India­ China standoff has affected the export of seafood from India to China. The resultant losses in­ curred by the fishing industry have resulted in unemployment and a financial crisis in the fish­ ing industry.

Denish Fofandi, owner of Deepmala Marine Exports, Veraval, informed The Observer: “Exports from Gujarat to China have declined by 90% as China is stopping containers in the middle terminal. Even though WHO has declared there are no chances of the presence of coronavirus in fish, Chinese authorities still conduct tests, leading to a delay in payment process.”

“Line fishing affects the in­ dustry. Around 100 boats lined altogether with deep nets catch fish as well as algae. In the ab­ sence of algae and similar organ­ isms necessary for the survival of fish, there is a scarcity of fish,” he added.

Delhi's de­addiction centres inadequate The number of de­addiction centres in the national capital is inadequate, reports Dhruv Raghav. The existing de­addic­ tion centres are Ill­equipped and fail to provide assistance to the thousands of addicts in the city.

P2 Farmers turn down Centre’s proposal Giving the Centre a three­day ul­ timatum to repeal the three con­ troversial agriculture laws, protesting farmers rejected the Centre’s proposals to end the stalemate. Thousands of farmers stayed put at Delhi’s borders to press for repeal of the agriculture marketing laws.

Foundation stone laid for new Parliament building Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone of the new Parliament

By Nidhi Kajaria

W Fresh fish being packed at Veraval port for export | Shivangi Bhutti Usmangani Sherasiya, secret­ ary of the National Fisherwork­ ers’ Forum, said local Paghadiya fishermen, who fish in shallow water with small boats, have no regular income.

“Also, with no special trans­ portation facility available for fisheries, suspension of passen­ ger trains and closure of state borders, fisheries stocks with middlemen and fishermen re­ mained unsold. This has led to a decline in the prices of several fish.” The price of Bombay duck is down to Rs 3,000 per 20 kg from Rs 4,200.

Lalmani Kashyap, general sec­

retary, Akhil Bhartiya Kashyap Nishad Aadivanshi Mahasangh, an intermediary between fisher­ men and the government, said the local fishermen residing on the plains in the northern part of India faced financial hardship and suffered from eye diseases and Legionnaires’ (a serious lung infection). “A draft policy, signed by the ministry of agriculture cit­ ing health issues faced by fisher­ men was filed before ministries of fisheries to highlight these issues. But no steps were taken by the government to improve this situation," he added.

Continued on page 2

building in New Delhi at an event that was attended by lead­ ers from various political parties, cabinet ministers and ambassad­ ors of different countries.

Trump knocks on door of Supreme Court President Donald Trump has ap­ proached the US Supreme Court against the result of last month's presidential election, which he alleges was rigged in favour of his Democratic challenger and Joe Biden.

Rajini meets aides to discuss new party Actor Rajinikanth held con­ sultative meetings with his polit­ ical aides Tamilaruvi Manian and R. Arjunamoorthy at Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam, Chennai, on Wed­ nesday.

China slaps more taxes on Oz wine The Chinese government on

Thursday slapped more taxes on wine from Australia, stepping up pressure in a bitter diplomatic conflict over the coronavirus, ter­ ritorial disputes and other irrit­ ants.

Vax authorisation is put on hold India’s wait for a locally pro­ duced coronavirus vaccine has gotten longer after an expert committee of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) put the Serum Institute's and Bharat Bi­ otech's applications on hold citing lack of complete data.

US Congressional Progressive Caucus elected Pramila Jayapal has been elec­ ted chair of the powerful U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus. It is going to advance racial justice, tackle poverty and inequality and help transform the country, the Indian­Americ­ an congress woman has said.

ith apartment associ­ ations not allowing house help to come to work during the pandemic, many women have complained of devel­ oping ‘Pandemic Fatigue’. They say it is tough for them to handle the entire workload.

“The pandemic and lockdown have only increased my work. I do not get free time for myself. I am always either cooking or do­ ing laundry and other household work,” Shashi Devi, a home­

maker from Bettiah, informed The Observer. “Never­ending household work makes me feel exhausted and prickly all the time.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Pandemic Fatigue, which has become com­ mon across in the world, devel­ ops over time. It refers to a feeling of being swamped with work while having to follow re­ strictions and being unable to maintain one’s psychological needs. Cultural, social, structur­ al, and legislative environments contribute to it.

Vinita Baja, a resident of Tolly­ gunge, Kolkata, said: “We are not allowed to call housekeeping staff and we even avoid calling house help due to the fear of get­ ting infected. This has put the entire burden on my shoulders.

Now that my husband has star­ ted working from home and our kids are also at home, I don't get time for myself. Instead, I am al­ ways doing household work.”

Rambha Kumari, a housekeep­ ing worker at Shashi Devi’s house, said: “For the past seven months, I have been struggling as no one was ready to call me to work. I recently started going out on work taking all precautions.”

The burden of work has made it difficult for women to handle the situation. They do not get any free time for themselves, and this which has begun to affect their mental health.

Dr Devyani Jain, a psycholo­ gist, said: “Occupational burnout is the most frequent issue faced by working women these days.

The imbalance between the household work and office work leads to a feeling of exhaustion; Illustrator: Nidhi Kajaria

it makes a person feel irritated, which eventually results in neg­ ativism.”

Pandemic Fatigue results in psychological stress in women. A key element is depression that occurs because of restrictions in their personal spaces.

Sakshi Agarwal, a resident of Bengaluru, has been working from home since the beginning of the pandemic. “It is impossible to do household work after spend­ ing nine hours in front of a laptop screen. Sitting and work­ ing for so long is a tough task.”

The Observer spoke with about 20 homemakers from across the country and found out that 95% complained about not being able to give time to them­ selves during the Covid­19 pan­ demic; Continued on page 4

The Observer Thursday, December 10, 2020

Delhi’s de-addiction centres are too few, in a bad shape

By Dhruv Raghav

The small number of de-addiction centres in the national capital are inadequate to accommodate even a fraction of the addicts.

“Only 2-3% people who willingly go to the rehab centers are able to quit,” Yash Badal, a recovering addict and de-addiction counselor, informed The Observer. “My experience (of a rehabilitation centre) was not good.”

Eight government-funded deaddiction centers are equipped with 135 beds. 48 private ones have 1,241 beds. The State Mental Health Authority has listed 11 de-addiction centres that have not appointed psychiatrists.

In 2019, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry published a ‘Magnitude of Substance Use in India Report’ which states that Delhi has 10 per cent of India’s addicts. Of the two crore total people of Delhi, 2.4% are addicted to alcohol, 0.73% to cannabis, 1.01% to opioids, 0.29% to sedatives, 0.01% to cocaine, 0.06% to amphetamine-type stimulants, 0.50% to inhalants, and 0.03% to hallucinogens. The national average is 0.25% for cannabis, 0.26% for opioids, 0.11% for sedatives, and 0.08% for other inhalants.

Badal was admitted to 15 deaddiction centers in 20 years of his treatment, but ill treatment, bad food and poor facilities at the centres compelled him to quit.

In 2018, Delhi HC ordered a city-wide survey of all de-addicNew Delhi:

tion centres and ordered the state Health and Family Welfare Department to set up a committee to oversee their functioning.

The centres were asked to reacquire their licences. After the HC order, many de-addiction centres moved to Punjab and UP. Anil Bergla, founder of Aas Foundation, which was forced to move to Punjab, said: “We had to close our de-addiction center as we were not able to recover our costs. Most centres have moved out of Delhi.”

The de-addiction centers are unsure to apply for grants due to a tedious process.

Arvind Kumar, president of Naya Savera Trust and recovering addict, said: “If you apply for a grant, you will be stuck in formalities. My grant was sanctioned twice, but my file remained at the bottom. The grant was only on the paper.”

Dr Gautam Bhatia, founder of Sahyog Detox and recovering addict, is also reluctant to take government grants. “We don’t get any government assistance. Getting a government grant is a long and difficult process.”

Staff at the government-aided facilities lack dedication and willingness, said Kumar. “It is expensive to run a de-addiction center. Hence, these centres take grants from the government.

Money from patients and these grants are being misused.”

Badal called the centres money-making organizations.

“These are businesses. They do not care if you are getting treatment. If somebody relapses, they earn more money,” he said.

Addiction to substances takes a toll on an addict's mental health.

To deal with the psychological implications of addiction, the state-level committee set up by

the HC mandated the presence of a psychologist, under the Minimum Standards of Care for deaddiction centers set by the Centre.

Loveleena Singh, a rehabilitation psychologist, said: “This is a biopsychosocial disorder. The biological implications of addiction are handled by physicians; psychologists help with the psychological and social aspects. The problem is the thought process of a person when he is addicted. It makes their life dysfunctional.

Spreading awareness regarding the same is important.”

Bhatia added: “The government should recognize addiction as a disease. People should stop thinking that addiction is immoral. Insurance companies don’t cover expensive de-addiction treatment.” This has resulted in few addicts willing to seek help.

Dr Sudha Gupta, Additional Chief Medical Officer of North Delhi, shared: “I was asked to map all districts in compliance with the HC order (in order) to map all de-addiction centers. A committee was set up under the chairmanship of the Assistant Commissioner of the Civil Lines zone. Action was taken against those de-addiction centers which did not meet the requirements.”

Recently, the Delhi government launched a project together with the AIIMS to enhance treatment and rehabilitation services for homeless addicts.

Q1. Which Indian American teen scientist was selected as the first TIME 'Kid of the Year' recently?

Q2. Who won the 2020 Man Booker Prize for his debut novel Shuggie Bain?

Q3. Who topped the Forbes Highest Paid Dead Celebrity list 2020 with a posthumus earning of $48 million?

Q4. Which former Punjab CM has threatened to return his Padma Vibhushan Award in protest for the Farm Bills?

Q5. Which Indian is among the five persons named as the 'Asian Person of the Year' by Singapore's The Strait Times, for his contribution in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic?

For answers, see page 4

Temperature: Maximum: 26 degrees Celsius Minimum: 15 degrees Celsius Precipitation: 10% Humidity: 54% Wind: 10 kmph

Rescind: To take away Mangle: To injure with

deep disfiguring wounds by cutting, tearing, or crushing Distend: To enlarge, expand, or stretch out Brainiac: A very intelligent person Tyro: A beginner in learning Equity: Freedom from bias or favoritism Lucrative: Profitable Incandescent: Strikingly bright, radiant, or clear.

Ambient: Existing or present on all sides Paucity: Smallness of number (fewness)

BUMPY ROAD, OVERFLOWING SEWAGE AND POTHOLES TROUBLE CITIZENS

P

Continued from page 1

Jyothi Ghaleppa

Parthiban Bhaskaran

Yashwanth Reddy

"Thank god, it's not rainy reason yet, or else you would have seen a mini ocean here. Imagine crossing the road with hands full of grocery bags and the sewage water underneath the bags by the time you reach home."

"I have two options one is to use the road, get myself dirty and reach home which is 1 minute away from the road or ignore the road and take the other one which takes me 20 minutes to reach home."

"Why have the GHMC officials dug up the road and caused us this inconvenience when they don't intend to fix it? It was bad before also, but at least we were able to travel somehow, now we are not even able to do that."

rakash Bhutti, a boat owner from Veraval, said: “Due to the Covid-19 lockdown, fishing trawlers arrived two months earlier on the shore.

Apart from the expense of Rs 3 lakh incurred in boat fishing," On the western coast, the fish prices have declined due to export issues, whereas on the southern coast, prices have risen as a result of the fall in supply.

Ravikumar Balakrishna, exporter from Mangaluru, said: “Fish catchers have suddenly declined due to Covid restrictions and unemployment. As a result, the prices of raw materials and exports, have risen by around 20%. Exports have declined from around Rs 100 crore to Rs 25 crore.”

Around 3.5 lakh families depend on this industry. Losses have forced owners to lay off their employees.

Naru Jam, exporter, Porbandar, said: “In the absence of subsidy and financial support by government, we are forced to re-

duce our costs. As a result, I have laid off 328 employees.”

Jegan E., production manager at Sagar Grandhi Exports, Chennai, said: “We have laid off around 50% staff to manage the costs. But, due to insufficient employees, operational issues were faced in production department.”

Earlier, the payment policies of China were less time-consuming as compared to Europe. But now Europe contributes towards the major portion of the earnings.

Nagin Bhutti, a consumer at Veraval, said: “Before Covid-19, we used to receive payment from European buyers after three months of unloading the fish containers. Whereas, Chinese buyers used to make payment as soon as the containers were loaded. Hence, 70% of our income was dependent on the seafood exported to China.”

As a result of shrink in demand and reduced incomes, traders are buying in lesser quantities from fishermen.

Poverty kills dreams of Bengal's young tribal football talents

By Abhisek Dutta

S

omnath Hembram, 24, has returned home after driv­ ing a truck from Chennai.

A local football talent, he has to drive a truck to earn a living.

Tribal football talents like Somnath are nipped in the bud due to poverty.

Somnath alias Kunu played for Bankura district of West Bengal as a striker. He was one of their key craftsmen in an inter­district football tourna­ ment in 2014.

Dust and government indiffer­ ence have snatched the glow of his brass trophies sitting in his hut. “They are of no use to me,” he said.

Owing to their physique, strength and speed, tribal foot­ ballers like Somnath dominate local football tournaments of West Bengal. But poverty and lack of infrastructure in rural areas have killed their dream of wearing the national jersey.

Veteran coach Purnendu Sarkar informed The Observer: “They are mired in bottomless poverty which doesn’t allow them to play for long. For even a very small income, they take up other jobs and gradually get lost from football.”

Dev Besra from Manbazar of Purulia district has made foot­ ball his profession. At 30, he still plays local tournaments for

clubs. He is paid Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 for every match. Players like him do not have acquaint­ ances in the big clubs in Kolk­ ata, so they have to await their trials and selection in Kolkata for months. “The financial condi­ tion of my family is not strong enough to bear so much ex­ penditure,” he shared.

Shantanu Bauri, 17, aspires to play for the top football clubs in Kolkata. But due to his poor fin­ ancial condition, he can’t shift to Kolkata from Bankura. “My family is scared of the costs of living in a metro city,” he said.

Samayita Sports Academy im­

parts football coaching to tribal boys and girls since its establish­ ment in 2010. They charge Rs 20 fees per month which is exemp­ ted for a few people. About 150 boys and girls, between 6 and 21, train in two camps.

Sukhendu Jana, manager of the Academy, said: “We are try­ ing to... find sponsors who will help us to provide them residen­ tial amenities. Proper nutrition is necessary for every athlete; an empty stomach will never let them go beyond this.”

Besides poverty, he pointed out the communication gap between tribal footballers and

By Mahitha Owk Hyderabad: Footpaths that are supposed to facilitate pedestri­ ans are being used by hawkers, forcing pedestrians to walk on busy roads.

“I like to walk short distances, but where should I walk?” Chola Raju, a second­year engineering student, asked.

Sai Moulya, a homemaker who walks to a nearby market, informed The Observer: "We can’t afford a scooter. Walking on roads without footpaths sometimes seems like walking on a deathbed to me.”

Pedestrians fear walking on roads, especially on roads in cit­ ies like Hyderabad. They have become so used to seeing hawkers on footpaths they have forgotten that the footpaths were meant for them.

Madhu Kumar, who walks from his house to a Metro sta­

tion every day, said it is not just important to build footpaths; the government should create awareness on using these foot­ paths. “If we don't want hawkers blocking footpaths, the govern­ ment should provide them with alternatives.”

Suhasini Medasani, a home­ maker whose house is opposite a national highway, said she has seen people crossing the road meeting with accidents.

On the one hand, pedestrians express their concern about not

having proper footpaths; on the other, hawkers struggle to do business with police asking for bribes.

Srilakshmamma M, who sells tender coconuts on footpaths, said every month she has to pay Rs 500 to police when they come for an inspection. “Last time I refused to pay them as my busi­ ness was running in loss, so they took away my hand scythe; which cost me around Rs 2,000.”

Rajasekar E. parks his biryani truck adjoining the footpath and

football organizations. “I don’t know why they do not arrange trials in tribal areas, which are goldmines of young talent.”

The book Soccernomics men­ tions that India has to improve its grassroots standard to achieve glory in football.

Franz Gastler, co­founder of the NGO Yuwa and football coach, said India performs badly in football because it's talents are not shaped by proper coaches at the grassroots He has been a part of several selection processes in Jharkhand. “Once, a deputy CM of Jharkhand sent a list of 7­10 footballers, and we had to select them,” he added.

Rahul Sheikh, who has worked in the management teams of many sports academies and football teams, said the in­ frastructure of Indian football is very poor compared to that in Europe.

Young Sanjay Bauri has played for Bankura district. He had to take up the job of house painting. “I still play football, but only to satisfy my soul.”

Experts say it is necessary to spot tribal talents at the grass­ roots level to augment the qual­ ity of Indian football. Dum Dum Football Academy coach Bipro Bose said the West Bengal gov­ ernment is trying to bridge the gap between the rural footballers and clubs.

serves his customers, who either sit on the footpath or sit in their vehicles, which block the road. “I have been doing this business for 12 years. I don’t have the money to rent a place, so I sell on roads.”

“It has been almost a year that Greater Hyderabad Muni­ cipal Corporation (GHMC) offi­ cials told me they will allocate a market space for my business.

They took pictures and collected all the details, but no response until now,” said Nageswara Rao P, who sells tender coconuts on a footpath Not that the hawkers want to sell on footpaths, but they don't know where else to. Most of the hawkers are not in a state to buy or rent a place; the government support for these hawkers is inadequate.

Reshma P, an assistant professor at the Global Academy of Technology Bangalore and who has researched pedestrian road safety, said that the fault lies in the design of the roads and footpaths.

Citizen's Voice Govt, pay attention to defence production According to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China has grabbed the second spot in arms production. Contrarily, India is the second largest arms importer despite being the third largest military spender. It’s high time the Indian defence establish­ ment bridged the gap.

Padmini Dhruvaraj Calling Sikh farmers Khalistanis is dangerous Ultranationalists’ selective out­ rage against the Sikh com­ munity is posing a serious threat to the already deteriorating sec­ ular fabric of India. Hindu na­ tionalist forces have been portraying Sikhs as supporters of the Khalistan movement and trying to place the pan­India protest in their long list of so­ called ‘anti­national’ activities.

Ritesh Roy Liberatory politics of Bob Marley’s music Although the image of Bob Mar­ ley remains that of a spiritual aesthetic in the popular imagin­ ation, it is important to under­ stand the liberatory politics of his music. Hardcore reggae mu­ sic is, indeed, an instrument of resistance against the systematic dehumanization of the op­ pressed. It calls for radical social change, transcending geograph­ ical space.

Arpitha Ajayakumar State of Congress: From everything to nothing Anyone who is a Korean fan will tell you the popular story of the BTS journey and the song “From nothing to everything”. The same popular line read in the re­ verse — “From everything to nothing” — best describes the condition of the Congress today.

Fatima Hasan An ominous sign for India’s ideals A 19­year­old dalit girl was gang­raped and murdered in Hathras, UP. Such alarming in­ cidents against women in India have become common in Indian society. What is more puzzling is the harassment the victim’s par­ ents were subjected to in the name of security by the right­ wing government of Yogi Adityanath. The trend does not augur well for India, its liberties, ideals and values.

Naveen Kumar

Across the Nation Code Terror 2.0, VIT Hacka­ thon Date and Time: December 12, 5 PM Registration Link: ht­ tps://bit.ly/3oEj8mP Green Virtual Marathon /Cyclothon Date and Time: December 13, 5:00 AM Registration link: ht­ tps://bit.ly/2KeQyd6

Rourkela’s jewellery shops are recovering from lockdown blow

By Ashutosh Acharya Rourkela: Jewellery shops in the city are gradually recovering from the blow that struck the market during the lockdown. The number of people buying jew­ ellery during the third and fourth quarters, especially dur­ ing Dhanteras, is higher this year.

“The same number of custom­ ers as last year visited our store this year,” Bikram Patel, store manager of the Tanishq show­ room in Rourkela, informed The Observer. “We focused on both Covid­19 and customers. Hence, we had to let go of a lot of cus­ tomers.”

Tanishq had set up lobbies for customers in a nearby textile showroom. The company sold jewellery for marriages online.

Gold price has been rising in recent months after crashing in the wake of the lockdown. It has crossed Rs 50,000 for 10 grams.

Varghese CA, Commercial Manager, Khimji Jewellers, said: “The number of customers buy­

Sanjay Jha, suspended Congress leader @JhaSanjay “Too much of democracy" is never a bad thing. It is the will of the people. Governments need to win their faith. What Mr Kant has said was said by leading stockbroker Mr Rakesh Jhun­ jhunwala too. And that is very worrying as they are very close to the current government.

1. Gitanjali Rao 2. Douglas Stuart 3. Michael Jackson 4. Prakash Singh Badal 5. Adar Poonawala Editor : Mahitha Owk Copy Editors : Ashutosh Acharya, Nidhi Kajaria, Dhruv Raghav, Nishita Agath, Mahitha Owk, Abhisek Dutta Page Editors : Nishita Agath, Nidhi Kajaria, Mahitha Owk, Abhisek Dutta Reporters : Ashutosh Acharya, Nidhi Kajaria, Dhruv Raghav, Nishita Agath, Mahitha Owk, Abhisek Dutta Photo Editor : Dhruv Raghav, Abhisek Dutta Supplements: Dhruv Raghav

ing gold during Dhanteras this year increased. We witnessed a growth of 60­80% over last year during Dhanteras. We were growing by 30­40% during the lockdown through online sales.”

“Jewellery is sanitized after each use by customers. Proper social distancing is maintained, and we are promoting cashless transactions.”

Milan Singh, a customer at Prasad Gold Plaza whose daugh­ ter was to get married on Decem­ ber 2, said: “Even though gold rates have skyrocketed this year, we have to buy jewellery for the

marriage as it is considered holy and is a part of the rituals. The marriage had to take place in April, but we had to postpone it due to the virus. Had we known that the gold rates would go so high, we would not have waited to buy jewellery.”

Sumiti, a customer at MM Jewellers, said she bought more gold during Dhanteras this year than she usually does. Gold price has increased so much that she may not be able to afford it later.

“It is safe to buy some extra gold and store it.”

Swastik Shivasish, a gold in­

vestor, said: “Nowadays, invest­ ing in gold has become the most profitable thing. It has become even more profitable than invest­ ing in the automobile sector.”

Buying gold and keeping it for a year or two will be highly profit­ able.

Stock broker Angel Commodit­ ies Ltd has estimated that gold price will go up to Rs 65,000 by Dhanteras next year.

Dilip Subudhi, the owner of Subudhi Jewellers, said: “Cus­ tomers who were buying gold earlier are buying silver this year. Due to the cut in the salar­ ies of middle­class people, locals can’t afford gold.”

Most small jewellery shops, like that of Subudhi, had fewer footfalls during Dhanteras this year. Jewellers think this has more to do with gold inflation than with Covid.

“We are following every safety measure that we can. It’s the price due to which the people are skeptical of buying jewellery,” Subudhi added.

The price of the yellow metal has increased to Rs 51,000 per 10 grams from Rs 43,000 in Febru­ ary. Though it has fallen after touching Rs 56,000 in August, market researchers say it will rise higher.

By Nishita Agath

T

he cloud kitchen concept, which refers to the homemade food delivery business, has seen rapid growth as a result of increased safety precautions by customers.

Mitali Hathi, owner of Hathi’z Chocolate Goodies, Porbandar, informed The Observer: “I star­ ted offering services in January 2020. Covid­19 proved out to be the best opportunity for my busi­ ness. From a single YouTube video of muffins and frankie, my business grew rapidly, offering a wide variety of food items to people. By providing home­baked brownies, jar cakes, sponge cakes, etc., I managed to get 3­4 orders daily.”

Strong competition and safety concerns proved to be a chal­ lenge. “But due to better quality and precautions, my business grew through word­of­mouth marketing…” she added.

During the lockdown, with the

closure of restaurants, cloud kit­ chens helped to fulfill customers’ food demands.

Bhavika Odedara, a customer at Hathi’z Chocolate Goodies, said: “The restaurant industry came to a halt, but our food crav­ ings didn’t. During such times, Hathi’z Chocolate Goodies proved to be a savior…. With the rise in cases, I was unable to trust dessert provided by bakeries and preferred home­made desserts due to their reasonable price, as­ sured quality with safety precau­ tions.”

Low prices offered by the com­ petitors often prove as the

growth barrier to entrepreneurs.

Parin Parmar, owner of Palash Aliments, Porbandar, said: “Due to Covid­19, I was unable to act as per my plan to pursue an in­ ternship abroad. I started a homemade food delivery busi­ ness. Lower prices offered by competitors seemed to be a chal­ lenge at an early stage. However, through workshops, I have man­ aged to make people aware of food quality and authenticity which helped me to get more food orders.”

Cloud kitchens are widely pre­ ferred as they allow customers to customize their orders.

Continued from page 1

F

ourteen of them com­ plained they have head­ aches and feel tired.

Homemaker Seema Madhogar­ iah shared: “Every time I thought that I had adapted to changes in lifestyle because of the lockdown, a new challenge would appear; these situations have given me many sleepless nights and panic attacks.”

Sunita, a domestic help, com­ plained of not being called at workafter the Tablighi Jamat episode as she's Muslim. Since thn she has find it difficult to get work.

Neha Agrawal, a homemaker from Navi Mumbai, recently started an online boutique think­ ing it will provide her mental peace. “I always feel tired and find myself in a state where I keep thinking about what I have to do next. I cannot give time to my family and myself because I am busy doing household work or taking orders."

According to WHO, in the past few months, many countries have been reporting an increase in Pandemic Fatigue. On its web­ site, WHO has proposed several strategies and actions to be fol­ lowed to handle the fatigue.

Dipali Bokhiriya, a customer at Palash Aliments, shared: “Food quality and customization drive me towards ordering food from Palash Aliments.”

Jigar Morjaria, a home chef of Laadeliciaco, also at Porbandar, said: “Covid­19 gave a chance to turn my passion into a profes­ sion. The fear of people to visit restaurants helped my business to grow. Customers prefer cloud kitchens over restaurant food as a single chef is involved… and hence safety protocols are main­ tained easily.”

“Initially, I served a few of my friends, but later by word of mouth and through social media promotions, I started this as a profession.”

A few restaurant owners also decided to convert their busi­ nesses into cloud kitchens.

Vinod Ramchandani, owner, Vins Chinese, said: “Due to the lockdown, I was unable to oper­ ate dine­in services. This concept helped me to earn by providing food prepared from home. Earli­ er, my regular customers ordered through phone calls. But, gradu­ ally, I was able to get more or­ ders.” This saved him from incurring losses.

F

Indian agriculture, home to 60% of our population, is in crying need of reform, writes

armer protests against the union government’s agricultural reforms have led many to question whether the proposed changes will benefit farmers and the wider rural economy.

Maharashtra’s amendment to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act in 2006 and the subsequent deregulation of the fruit and vegetable trade in 2017, provides a partial answer.

Anil Ghanwat, president of the Shetkari Sanghatana, a famer organization in Maharashtra, believes the reforms have helped.

He says private retail companies that have set up produce­ collection centres, like the ones in Loni Kalbhor and Indapur districts of Pune, enable farmers to save on transportation, reduce commission costs and receive timely payments.

Sudarshan Mungal, 29, is a farmer from Mugat village in Mudkhed taluka, Nanded. His family owns an eight­acre farm where they grow wheat, turmeric and sugarcane. He says that they can sell their produce only in the Mudkhed APMC at between

Farm incomes steadily declined over past decades. | Credit: Sudarshan Mungal Rs.100­200 below the market rate. “We can’t set up stalls anywhere in Mudkhed to sell our produce. Traders have their unions, but farmers don’t.

Companies buy from traders in the city,” says Sudarshan.

“Mudkhed farmers are not aware of direct trading with companies.

Tehsildar and agriculture officers must advise us on this.”

W

hile Maharashtra does permit contract farming, companies still need to get licenses from APMCs even to trade with the farmers directly. This is a huge cost and

also a source of corruption, alleges Ghanwat. In the mandis, both buyers and farmers are charged 6­8% commissions/ market levy for ‘auctions’, which barely last two­three minutes. “A marketing license from Pune’s Gultekdi APMC requires a bribe of Rs.2 crores to be paid to the chairman and the secretary.

Since 1960, open auctions are mandatory in APMCs but this law is rarely adhered to in any of the APMCs and the farmer continues to be exploited,” alleges Ghanwat.

Ashok Gulati, agricultural economist at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, Delhi says companies need a stable policy environment to build a supply line. “Down south, Hatsun Agro is the biggest private milk producer and they buy milk from 3.5 lakh farmers every day.

Quality and fat content are checked, and the price is paid to the farmers in advance. Hatsun also brings technology into the dairy sector.”

“In the north, Nestle started with 600 milk farmers in Punjab

Protesting farmers have shunned political parties to ensure their platform includes the entire farming community. Nothing better underscores that principle than the support of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the farmers’ wing of the Rashtriya Seva Sangh, parent body of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. BKS Punjab chapter vice president Harjeet Singh spoke to The Observer's Jaskiran Singh: Excerpts: Do you interests farmers?

think political are misguiding

T

his protest has no political interests, the farmers are themselves in it. Farmers have different trade unions, all of them are in this. You tell me which minister is sitting in front?

Who’s allowing Congress people or Aam Aadmi people to come here? No (politically affiliated) person is allowed on the stage.

Basically, they are fighting for the people as this law affects both farmers and people. How can the farmers be misguided?

They are literate people.

Will the reforms leave the farmers at the mercy of the corporates?

Since some time, corporate houses have been given airports and railway stations. So, farmers

The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) is one of the major farmers' unions in the country. | Credit: Patrika have doubts that our land is being prepared to be given to the corporates.

They will take our lands and sow crops in it. Let’s say they plant potatoes and store it, and then who will decide the price?

Everything is in their hands then. Since all production will be theirs, they will sell it as they want to. Any individual can be a farmer, but a company should not be farmer.

We had raised some objections that a company cannot be a farmer, don’t register them as a farmer. What will happen is that

you have already given them 1,000s of acres of our land, and now the subsidies and tax rebates that we get will be misused by them. Any individual can be a farmer, but a company should not be farmer.

Are minimum support prices (MSP) the solution to low farm income?

Today, there are a lot of states which say they have MSP but farmers are not getting those rates. For example, if the MSP on wheat is about Rs.1,850, there

are a lot of states where it’s purchased at Rs.1,500 or 1,200.

We are asking that you make a law on MSP that you won’t purchase at price below it. Only then you will get the MSP benefit.

L

ook at sugarcane prices, it has MSP. Sugarcane is purchased by sugar mills on a contract farming basis. But you will see that farmers are always agitating that they have not been given their dues.

Farmers already have bad experiences with corporates.

and now procures milk from over 1 lakh farmers,” he adds. “ITC’s e­choupal initiative of buying soyabean from MP farmers was featured in the Harvard Business Review. All this is contract farming and farmers are welcome to trade with them or sell anywhere else,” he adds.

The Ashok Dalwai Committee on Doubling Farmers’ Income, set up by the union agriculture ministry, points out that the existing regulatory framework does not support free flow of agricultural produce as it constrains direct interface of farmers with the processors, bulk buyers and consumers.

The Food Corporation of India procures only wheat and rice at the government­prescribed minimum support price (MSP) and sells them at subsidised prices through the public distribution system. Pressure by farmers to raise the MSP every few years has led to food­subsidy expenditures almost trebling in the past decade. As government cannot procure all the 23 crops it prescribes support prices for, the MSP is very selective.

MSP is not only for Punjab, Haryana or UP. Wheat and rice are grown here but also in the south. Corn is grown in Bihar and UP. Or cotton and other crops. Every state has MSP on their principal crops. Farmers are affected everywhere.

So, if you make MSP a law, at least the crops won’t be sold below that particular price. If onions are being purchased at Rs.5 and companies sell it at Rs.50, the least you can do is give the farmers the worth of their crops.

Today you give benefits to everyone, education benefits to students, LPG to people, people in government get money to have their clothes washed. What are you giving the farmers? Are their costs ever repaid? They too work hard, have to educate their children, even they want to go on a vacation. Today only the costs of fertilser, water and electricity are compensated.

What hold?

lessons

does

Bihar

In Bihar they finished off the mandis and now look at their condition. Farmers with 2 or even 5 acres of land, today they come to Punjab, Haryana or Maharashtra to earn their livelihoods as laborers. They are farmers but actual farming survives only in Punjab and areas where MSP works.

Temples and shrines that depend on throngs of devotees have been hard hit by Covid­19, says

I

ndia’s biggest temples have millions of devotees. Tirupati draws 30 to 40 million pilgrims annually, Sabarimala 40 to 50 million, Meenakshi over 6 million and Jagannath in Puri 4.2 million. But these figures pale in comparison to the numbers that hundreds of thousands of small temples and shrines scattered across the country attract every day.

According to the 2001 census, there are more than 2 million functioning temples in India. The wealth of the 10 richest temples is estimated at around $20 billion.

Most Hindus, however, depend on small temples near their homes. Unlike their larger counterparts with their huge hundis and deeper reserves, these small temples depend on the daily offerings of devotees for their survival.

Priests have been sitting idle as few devotees bother to turn up. Even after the Maharashtra government allowed temples to reopen since 16th November 2020, very few devotees visit them. The strict enforcement of

meeting the temple’s expenses from their own pockets but cannot pay salaries.”

Vikas Gupta, a priest in Salpadevi Temple, complains, “As devotees were not visiting the temple since March, we did not earn any income for 8 months. Even now after the Temples are started devotees are reluctant to visit the temples. As most of our devotees are aged and they have a fear of contracting corona. We could not pay the electricity bill for the first 5 months. We were expecting aid from the government, but it has not announced anything so far.”

Miilions of Hindus have been avoiding visits to temples of the fear of contracting the virus. | Credit: Hindustan Times physical distancing and masks don’t seem to have allayed fears of contracting the coronavirus.

Many Hindus also tend to have prayer spaces in their homes so a temple visit can wait.

Says Girish Subramanian, a trustee of Bhaktsangam temple,

“For the first 7 months, the temple was closed. Now even after the government has allowed us to reopen the temple, very few devotees visit the temple. We paid staff salaries for the first 3 months but could not pay them anything after May. Trustees are

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any other businesses dependent on the temple, including flower, coconut and prasad sellers who have stalls outside are suffering. Says Leena Mishra, a garland and fruit seller outside the Salpadevi Temple, “I have been selling garlands outside this temple for the last 35 years. My business was closed after the corona till 1st September. I used to sell 5 to

10 big garlands, 9 to 10 dozen bananas and 40 lemons a day till March.

After the temples reopened, my bananas were unsold & got rotten after 3 to 4 days. Some people come to buy garlands for their house. I have taken a huge loan in the last 8 months and can’t repay it. I have not paid rent since February.”

Vishal Khatri, a trustee of Balrajeshwar Temple, reveals, “We are trustees here only in name, our real trustees are in Russia! We get most of our donations from Russia and foreign countries. After the coronavirus they have completely stopped sending donations and we have no money to run the temple. We are running the temple with just what devotees put in the donation box. I am not sure how we are going to run the temple in future.”

Most of the rich temples have savings to run their establishments and pay staff salaries. Many of the small temples are not registered so they can’t get aid from the government even if it decides to help.

Treating Covid patients has been more an article of faith than science, says

T

he Covid­19 pandemic has made our lives uncertain.

And as with our personal moods swings between hope and despair, the line of treatment has also evolved, accepting and rejecting possible solutions over time.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQS) emerged as the first popular treatment of the disease we knew little about. HCQS was previously used for the treatment of malaria and similar inflammatory conditions. “After enough studies were done to find the efficacy of the treatment, HCQS proved to be ineffective,” said Dr. Ulhas Mahajan, retired medical officer, Government P.C. Sethi Hospital, Indore.

HCQS is no longer used for treatment. However, it’s used for preventive purposes.

HCQS made way for Remdesivir, an antiviral included as an investigational therapy for moderate Covid cases by the union health ministry in June. A month later, the ministry issued another protocol that said Remdesivir should not be used if a patient displays signs of liver damage, has severe renal impairment, is pregnant or lactating, or less than 12 years old. However, it has been used widely as a treatment ever since.

But policymakers and doctors continue to remain divided over its use. Not long ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a warning against the use of Remdesivir in hospitalized patients, regardless of disease severity. “There is currently no evidence that Remdesivir improves survival and other outcomes in these patients,” said a WHO press release.

“Certain trials have shown that Remdesivir reduces the time needed for recovery,” Rajesh Malhotra, head, trauma centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences told The Hindu, explaining why hospitals continue its usage despite warnings. “We are using it in the early stages of the disease and have had good results with minimum side effects. But we cannot attribute it to Remdesivir alone ... Even we believe that it may not be of much use once the disease has advanced in severity,” he added.

“The mortality rate which used to be around 4% has fallen to 1.47%. This has led many doctors and researchers to believe that timely Remdesivir treatment can prove beneficial,” Dr. Mahajan observed. “Even if it’s not effective, there aren’t many side­ effects either,” he said.

Recovered Covid-1 9 patients are in demand for donating their plasma to save lives. Credit - PTI Even as Remdesivir became popular, convalescent plasma therapy (CP) too made its place in the Covid treatment universe.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) permitted the use of plasma therapy under the national treatment protocol in June. Later, the organisation’s plasma therapy study, called PLACID, observed that “CP was not associated with reduction in mortality or progression to severe

Covid­19”.

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he plasma, a yellow fluid extracted from the blood of recovered Covid­19 patients, when transfused in the affected person’s blood is said to provide antibodies to fight the disease.

The demand for plasma grew around July. Social media was filled with requests to donate plasma of a required blood group.

According to HuffPost, the price of each plasma unit is approximately Rs. 5,500. Unlike Remdesivir, plasma therapy is only given to critical patients.

The union health ministry has issued several statements against the use of these investigational treatments.

Union health minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said in his weekly talk Sunday Samwad that private hospitals have been advised against the routine use of experimental therapies. At present, CP is only being given to selected patients depending on the requirements and severity of the disease.

India has reported over 97 lakh coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca have announced that their vaccine candidates showed an efficacy of more than 90%. Despite these candidates seeking emergency authorization of their vaccine candidates from the Drugs Controller General of India, concerns over availability and cost still prevail.

So, these investigational therapies remain the mainstay for treatment even as mass inoculation with the vaccine gets underway.