1. The Situation
a) Virus Attack:
Covid-19 and its spread was not grasped fully until March 23rd, 2020. Meanwhile the spread from primary contacts and secondary contacts has already taken place. Realizing the rapid spread of the virus, the Central and State Governments declared lock-down of all social life from March 23rd 2020. The lock-down was extended in two phases. But, later, the Governments felt that entire economic activity had come to stand still and lifted the lock down in phases. Now there is no lock down or prohibition of any activity and with that the virus spread rapidly. As on date the number of cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is on the rise.
In Andhra Pradesh, the districts of Guntur, Kurnool, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna are worst affected while in Telangana Hyderabad, Suryapet and Ranga Reddy districts are affected with a greater number of cases.There appears to be every danger of further spread of the virus.This is happening due to negligence of certain sections of the people in strictly adhering to the norms of social distancing and other precautions.
b) The Lock-down and the People:
The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic and the lock-down measures in its wake has taken everyone unawares and shocked. The sudden declaration of lock-down has affected everyone in various ways. The well to do could purchase all needed essential commodities and stay at home, while the Dalits, daily wage earners, migrant workers and all other marginalized sections were driven to starve at home.They have no reserve funds or bank balances to purchase essential commodities. They have to work every day to buy their daily needs and now they are starving.
Not only the daily wage workers, even other workers like vegetable vendors, fruit vendors and others who do petty trades are driven to starvation due to lock down. Likewise, all small job holders like those who work in cloth shops, tailoring shops, malls, theatres, hotels, bars & restaurants, hospitals, etc are driven to bankruptcy. These small job holders now can’t pay house rents, purchase essential commodities for feeding the families. Due to lock-down servant maids, mostly dalit women, who work in number of houses and earn monthly wages are also driven to starve at homes. Most of these servant maids and small job holders reside in rented houses in slums or crowded colonies.Now they can’t pay the rent for their small houses in slums. All the above-mentioned labour class mostly belong to Dalit Adivasi sections of the society. And all these daily wage labourers are facing severe crisis in the present pandemic. All the working areas of Dalit Sthree Sakthi has a very high number of such communities and individuals who are caught by this situation and are under life threat.
2. What Dalit Sthree Sakthi has Done
a) Awareness among the cadre:
DSS created a WhatsApp group with the women collective leaders, youth leaders, district coordinators and state team. All members of the group are in touch on daily basis exchanging information through messages and conference calls so that everyone knows what the other is doing. Everyone has been given the task of spreading awareness about the need to strictly adhere to the norms of social distancing and other precautions to be taken to protect oneself and the community.
b) Data Collection of Most Needy People:
In co-ordination withthe NCDHR, Delhi, the team of DSS downloaded “CLAIMS” application and collected the data of the people who are in dire need of essential commodities in the period of lock-down and filled up the details of the people in the districts of Guntur, Krishna, West Godavari, East Godavari, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam, Ranga Reddy and Adilabad. The CLAIMS application records the details of the individual and community who are severely affected by the present pandemic situation. There is a provision of allotting different packages to the individuals whose details are recorded thru the application and further processed with the government for the respective aid.
c) Distribution of Essential Commodities to Needy Dalit Families:
The amount sanctioned by Christian Aid for relief is about Rs.1,30,000/. The amount at the disposal of DSS being very limited, it was planned to see that the neediest beneficiaries be identified and helped with limited relief package.
Dalit families are the worst sufferers along with other marginalized sections. Though migrant workers were also starving without work and food, their need was mostly transport. They were all desperately trying to go back to their native states at any cost, by walk, by trucks etc. There was lot of media and social media coverage on the exodus of migrant workers and a large number of philanthropic individuals and NGOs came forward to feed the trekking migrant workers at various places enrooted. Though belatedly the Governments also responded to their calamity and arranged special trains to various states and supplied food.
In case of Dalits who are dependent on daily wages there was not much relief from the government, excepting supply of rice to the white ration card holders. There was no media coverage on the plight of Dalits. Philanthropists/NGOs concentrating on relief to dalit families in villages is negligible. Most of the poor dalit families economic sources have dried up totally as they don’ have any work to do. Quite a number of dalit families work as agricultural labourers, petty vendors, auto drivers, taxi drivers, construction workers, masons, hamalis at wholesale markets/ transport companies etc. Dalit women and girls also go as agricultural labour, vegetable vendors, helpers in shops, servant maids, work in factories, run petty shops at home etc. Due to Covidlock-down all these activities came to an end and there was no way for the dalit families to make both ends meet. Not only all fiscal activity providing some succour to Dalits is closed but there is no hope also that it may revive in the near future. In these circumstances, the poor dalit families are in dire need of relief to endure and survive.
In view of the above situation, DSS decided to lend a helping hand to the poor dalit families identified by it. The staff and women collective leaders of the districts in which DSS is functioning have been pressed into service and they identified a few most needy families for extending relief. Further, it was also felt that most of the families have no problem with rice as it was supplied to them by the government and they need oil and pulses which they are unable to purchase. Hence, DSS made bulk purchase of oil, pulses and vegetables and distributed to the identified families as per the details given below.
Andhra Pradesh:
Essential Commodities like Oil, Pulses and vegetables were distributed at the following places on the dates mentioned:
Guntur District:
On 29-05-2020 in the villages of Angala Kuduru and Kopalle of Tenali, Mandal, Guntur district.
On 30-05-2020 in the villages of Peda Ravuru, Katevaram and Sajjanna Peta, Tenali Mandal, Guntur District.
On 30-05-2020, Stambala Garuvu area of Guntur town, Guntur district.
Krishna district:
On 31-05-2020 dalit residential areas of Vijayawada slums were covered. Rani Gari Thota, Tarakarama Nagar, Balaji Nagar, Kamayya Thopu, Kanuru, Pezzone Peta were covered.
West Godavari:
On 24-06-2020 villages of Vatluru, Pina Kadimi, Chodimella were covered.
Telangana State:
Ranga Reddy district:
On 22-06-2020, relief was distributed in the villages of BodamPahad, Ranga Reddy district.
On the same day i.e. on 22-06-2020 relief was distributed in Gundala village, Chevella mandal, Ranga Reddy district.
On 23-06-2020 Aluru village, Chevella Mandal, Ranga Reddy district.
Vikarabad district:
On 23-06-2020 Yethirajpalli village, Nawab Pet mandal, Vikarabad district.
Advocacy with Government:
DSS through its cadre gathered information that a few families in the red zone of Guntur district are in dire need of essential commodities. DSS represented to the district Collector of Guntur district to help the needy people of villages of Guntur district. When the DSS team contacted and requested the Guntur district administration, the District Collector directed one donor, namely Sarada Peetam, to distribute their packages to the identified people indicated by DSS. As such, Sarada Petam distributed relief through the District Women Collective leaders of DSS. The local DSS women collective leaders of each village identified the neediest single women, widowed and deficient families and guided the distribution accordingly. Rice, oil, dal, wheat, turmeric powder, mirchi powder, salt and vegetables in the villages of Takkellapadu, Uppalapadu and Namburu.
Likewise, DSS contacted the Collector and DIG of Visakhapatnam and requested them to help the families in dire need of essential commodities in the red zone area, Allipuram slum in Visakhapatnam city. They immediately responded and arranged for distribution relief to the needy families.
The details of the rescue given to these families is mentioned below:
Area | District/ State | No of Families which received relief | Supported by |
Pedaravuru Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 40 | Christian Aid |
Stambala Garuvu Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 35 | Christian Aid |
Katevaram Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 50 | Christian Aid |
Angala Kuduru Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 35 | Christian Aid |
Sajjanapet Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 45 | Christian Aid |
Kopalle Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 40 | Christian Aid |
Kamayyathopu Village | Krishna District/ Andhra Pradesh | 36 | Christian Aid |
Pejjonipet slum | Krishna District/ Andhra Pradesh | 38 | Christian Aid |
Ranigarithota | Krishna District/ Andhra Pradesh | 45 | Christian Aid |
Tharakaramanagar | Krishna District/ Andhra Pradesh | 38 | Christian Aid |
Kanuru | Krishna District/ Andhra Pradesh | 40 | Christian Aid |
Vatluru Village | West Godavari District/ Andhra Pradesh | 40 | Christian Aid |
Chodimella Village | West Godavari District/ Andhra Pradesh | 37 | Christian Aid |
Pinakadimi | West Godavari District/ Andhra Pradesh | 36 | Christian Aid |
Bodampahad | Shabad/Ranga Reddy District | 45 | Christian Aid |
Gundala | Chevella/ Ranga Reddy District | 40 | Christian Aid |
Allor | Chevella/ Ranga Reddy District | 45 | Christian Aid |
Ethirajpalli | Navabpet/ Ranga Reddy District | 39 | Christian Aid |
Takkellapadu Village | | 80 | Christian Aid |
Uppalapadu Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 65 | Sharadapeetam Trust |
Namburu Village | Guntur District/ Andhra Pradesh | 150 | Sharadapeetam Trust |
Allipuram | Vishakhapatnam/ Andhra Pradesh | 200 | Vishakhapatnam District/ Andhra Pradesh |
Total | | 1219 | |
Photos of Women Collective leaders, Youth Leaders, Coordinators of DSS, Village along with Sarpanches and Political leaders who were involved in distributing essential commodities to the needy people
Angala Kuduru Village
Katevaram Village
Stambala Garuvu Slum
Sajjanapet Village
Pedaravuru Village
Kopalle Village
Krishna District Kanuru
Pejjonipet Slum
Kamayya Thopu
Ranigari Thota
Tarakarama Nagar
West Godavari District:
Vatluru Village:
Chodimella Village:
Pinakadimi Village:
Namburu, Takkellapadu and Uppalapadu Villages:
Telangana State
Gundala Village:
Bodampahad Village:
Allor Village:
Yethirajpalli Village:
1. Present Situation:
From June 1st 2020 the lock-down was lifted and all activities were permitted. People of all sections who were trapped inside the homes and who got bored with the lock-down swarmed on to the streets ignoring all precautions. Everywhere, in the markets, wine shops and on the streets crowds of people gathered. Though there are strict instructions to wear a mask and to maintain social distance of 6 feet, none seems to follow the precautions. Now there is large scale spread of the virus and nearly a thousand fresh cases of infections are reported in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States each day.
Though all activities are permitted, there was not much difference in the lives of Dalits, as agricultural work is not fully revived. Further, during this period as the Dalits were deprived of all livelihood, the dominant castes are feeling upper hand in the villages and are reviving oppression. In Garagaparru village where Dalitssuccessfully fought against dominant castes on the issue of erection of Ambedkar statue are now facing social boycott. Likewise, in towns and cities the dalit women who were out of work are not re-employed after the lock-down, due to fear of virus. Even though autos are permitted people are not ready to hire autos due to fear of virus, thus affecting their earnings. In all other walks of life also dalit and dalit women earnings did not revive and they are continuing in a desperate situation. Most of the shops, factories did not start and have not re-employed workers. As such Dalits and dalit women continue to suffer. All this is because most of the Dalits are dependant on daily earnings and have no land or assets. Only when Dalits are empowered with their share of economic resources in the country, they can’t face situations like the present pandemic.
40 |
35 |
50 |
35 |
45 |
40 |
36 |
38 |
45 |
38 |
40 |
40 |
37 |
36 |
45 |
40 |
45 |
39 |