fable 1. Number of interviews by area and type of responden and local facilitators helped ensure that different perspectives were acknowledged with a view to incorporate intersectionalities with gender sensitivity in collecting data and analysis. were conducted with women and 1] transgender woman; 98 per cent of the beneficiaries were women; and 13 of the 19 participants in the ‘other actor’ category were women. The representatives of political parties, the police, local MLA and councillors were mainly men, while representatives of funding organisations and ASHA or anganwadi workers were women. The Study Context - Review of Literature on the Covid-19 Impact and Policy Responses in India The NFSA and other schemes that the state banked upon to provide relief excluded large sections of people who could not produce documentary evidence, such as Photo Courtesy: Maiti Nepal Photo Courtesy: theprint.in Given the semi-federal structure of India, smooth coordination between the centre and states is a prerequisite in times of crises. Aiyar and Krishnamurthy (2020) point to three areas where state- centre coordination was lacking in response to the Covid-19 crisis: a) management of finances, which mentions the need to flexibilise the movement of finances between states and the centre, b) coordination with regard to essential supplies, and c) movement of people. The dangers of universalising the schemes and measures have been voiced by many (Aiyer and Krishnamurthy, 2020; Rangarajan and Dev, 2020). For instance, Kapur (2019) explores the impact of increasing Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and its possible implications on the state-centre relationship and the state’s capacity in governance. Even though the implementation and AVACIITIAN af crich crhameac ic tha Photo Courtesy: The World Economic Forum Photo Courtesy: The Indian Express Photo Courtesy: who.int Photo Courtesy: Yogeshwari Deshlehra ASHA workers and anganwadi workers in India, comprising only women, have played a central role in Photo Courtesy: Hindustan Times Photo Courtesy: India Today Gujjar or Jat community, received monetary compensation and settled in and around Sarai Kale Khan, Nizamuddin or Chilla Knhadar. Even though officially the farmlands now belonged to the government, due to inoccupancy in these areas the ex-landowners continued to hold power over this land by leasing it out to local tenant farmers (Aijaz, NGO representative, 2021). Kannan et al. (2018), through their ethno- geography study of Yamuna Khadar found that the current settlers in the area are tied up in a ‘triangular relationship’ between the state and ‘mafia’ (the illegal landowners). Thus ‘space as lived and space as owned are in constant interaction with one another’ (Kannan et al., 2018: p. 8). Source: Google maps. https:/\www.google.com/maps/d/u/O/viewer? mid=1Q2icaeTKknAfixlb8iGfwbFYbIula3 UO&lII=28.60886246092156%2C77.26541499999999&2=15 In 2016, the government demolished large areas of crop land for a cultural event on Art of Living (Business Standard, 2016). Farmers had taken these lands on lease and sown the seeds, waiting for the harvest to pay off their debts and retrieve the cost of irrigation, labour and materials. With such a drastic loss, farmers of Yamuna Khadar have Yamuna Khadar is a vast area that is divided into blocks. with different kinds of land terrain. The huts are Photo Courtesy: www.indiawaterportal.org/ The current demography of Yamuna Khadar is a mix of long-term settlers (tenant farmers) who have been living here for 30-50 years and recent migrants who previously lived in areas like Badariya Nagar, Kale Khan Farming is carried out in two forms in Yamuna Khadar: Batai (or Sajhedari) and Jama. In the Batai system, landowners give out the land to local farmers for farming without any prepayment and the loss or orofit from the farming is divided oetween the two parties. Here, the Photo Courtesy: mint Government health centres and medical facilities are not available in Yamuna Khadar; the nearest government hospital is Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital or a dispensary in Patparganj, which are 2-6 kilometres from Yamuna Khadar. For minor health issues, people consult local doctors (called jhola chap doctors since they are not formally trained medical professionals) because they are accessible and affordable. And there are no Mohalla clinics in the area. There was also mention of a medical van that would visit the area every Saturday for 2-3 hours through a trust. Most houses do not have an electricity connection but those close to the roads have taken electricity from the street. Local initiatives by some community leaders have also tried to mitigate this problem. For instance, Nitin distributed solar panels to all the households (Nitin, Male FLW, 2021) and most households in the study were using these solar panels. Another major issue, especially for women, is the lack of safe and hygienic toilets. Most respondents Education was one of the most highlighted issues in the area which started gaining attention when an informal school was initiated by Mr. Gurmeet Singh Lowana in 2011. The school had paid teachers and was able to provide education to at least 200 children. But a few years later, the school was demolished by the government. After the demolition, another informal school called Van Phool was opened by the local community members, Gurmeet Singh and BSM. Educated members of the community teach in the school where girls are provided free education, and < nominal fee is charged for boys. In line with this, a few members of the school formed the Manthan Social Society Lokesh shared that her father was constantly harassed by the ‘Gujjar’ landlord and the family feared the consequences of upsetting him, Photo Courtesy: Vaishnavi Rathore More than the disease, the people in Yamuna Khadar were impacted by the stringent lockdown pushing them to a state they had never witnessed before. Photo Courtesy: ‘Rasoi On Wheel’ serves more than 1500 poor people everyday Food distributed by the government was primarily stationed at government schools and ration shops. The Delhi Government announced the distribution of mid-day meals ration to school students for six months during the lockdown period The Hindu, 2020 December 29) though only one respondent out of 21 beneficiaries and frontline workers from Yamuna Khadar) received this mid-day meal ration which included five kilos of wheat and rice each, pulses and refined oil. This ration, which was supposed to be distributed once a month for six months was provided within one day, most likely to reduce the additional effort. (Suneeta, Beneficiary, January 2071). Photo Courtesy: NDTV Photo Courtesy: telegraphindia Though there is not much literature on the perspectives of receiving relief, especially in the Indian context, Parsell and Clarke (2020) look at the receiver's shame and embarrassment as secondary and ‘asking for help as a last resort and an act of desperation’ (p. 8). Similar narratives resonated in our study, where a few participants reflected that they could not act on the feelings of shame and hesitation during a hunger crisis, ‘lf we feel shame, we'll go hungry. We must get food anyway. Shame or no shame, The process of procuring materials was extremely stressful, both physically and mentally. For example, Suneeta shared her experience of carrying the monthly PDS food kit of 15 kilos on her head, covering 3-4 kilometres since no rickshaws were available, ‘| used to carry it on my head. Would rest a bit (susta leti thi) during the journey. Or | would unload the kit on the road, sit there for a while to rest.’ (Suneeta, Beneficiary, January 2021). Managing food, money and other resources and being constantly worried about State community workers like anganwadi and ASHA workers were underutilised. They were involved in food distribution, but coordination Most women respondents mentioned that since no food was being cooked at home, there was no significant increase in household work while also viewing the double burden as a virtue. ‘I never felt that it has increased. Work is work. You know Indian women are very powerful; in all these situations, she can handle both responsibilities Photo Courtesy: viator Source: Google maps. https:/www.google.com/maps/@28.5169926,77.2364284,17z?hl=en by residents of the settlement) or Mahila Sabla Sangh (Noorjahan and Ratan, Frontline Workers, 2021). It was also in 1993 that Chaudhary Shish Pal got appointed as the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Deoli Vidhan Sabha constituency under which Sanjay Camp falls) and raised the people’s demands to have pucca (solid and permanent) houses with the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Station House Officer (SHO) and other state actors. The reason is that their houses made of tin and tarpaulin sheets had started to fall in 1988 when Delhi received one of its heaviest rainfalls. As a result of several meetings with the MLA, SHO and SDM, the people living in Sanjay Camp were finally permitted to make their houses with brick in 1993-94 with the condition that they would not use lanter (concrete roof slab) in its construction (Ratan, Frontline Worker, 2021). The advocacy efforts through Sanjay Camp Vikas Committee and Mahila Sabla Sangh eventually led to the availability of water connections, drainage systems -or these reasons, the infrastructure ‘acilities differed starkly in the two areas at the time of their inception. Sanjay Camp was a vacant piece of land with no electricity, water, ‘oads, toilets or sewer system, due (Oo Which community members had (Oo travel to far-off places such as Chirag Delhi and Khanpur (a distance oF 10-15 km.) to even fetch water ‘Noorjahan, Community Member and -rontline Worker, 2021). In contrast, Dakshinpuri enjoyed well-laid sewer systems and water pipelines even at its inception (Nirantar, 2021). The strong social cohesion between oeople living in Sanjay Camp due (Oo the similar challenges they ‘aced in the area and the presence of a very old NGO known as the Mahila Sabla Sangh (now Action ndia Mahila Panchayat) helped community members negotiate with state actors and advocate for =ssential infrastructure services in the area such as toilets and water ‘rom 1992 onwards, either through Sanjay Camp Vikas Samiti (Sanjay raisec PuUccc with 1 (SDM and c is tha tarpa in 19€ of its of sev SHO | Sanja to me in 199 they | roof s Front effort Comr event Photo Courtesy: thehindu Photo Courtesy:Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Another major challenge, especially for people living in rented accommodation in and around Sanjay Camp, was the inability to pay their rent and afford food and milk for their children due to a lack of ration cards and financial support The role of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres was also severely limited during this time, especially in March, resulting in significant disruptions in the regular provision of cooked meals to the children enrolled in their centres as well as their other activities such as regular monitoring of children’s health. Only by April could they adapt to the changing situation and resume their services. Moreover, they had also switched to providing dry rations instead of cooked food during this time. They provided jaggery, chickpeas and porridge twice a month for two months during the lockdown to the children enrolled in their centres, after which they distributed the items once a month. This meant that the children had no steady supply of food (and Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/UN0579828/lfansasti Photo Courtesy: deccanherald/PTI file photo Photo Courtesy: eastasiaforum.org Photo Courtesy: rural.nic.in Photo Courtesy: THE HINDU/ Sushil Kumar Verma Photo Courtesy: Getty Images The study also found that some female frontline workers faced competition and intimidation by men in the relief work. For instance, Vibhuti from AAP said that the MLA of the area did not like that she was Photo Courtesy: Financial Express Photo Courtesy: Barclays Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock They also suggested that bus fares should be strictly regulated if there is another lockdown. This is required given the massive migrations that the country saw during the first People criticised the frontline workers for using social media to raise funds. Roshan, a young community volunteer, shared how his post in the office WhatsApp group on urgent requirements for funds to carry out the relief work met with criticism from the group members; they said that he was trying to show off the work that Photo Courtesy: Reuters/Mohammad Ponir Hossain/File Photo Photo Courtesy: indianexpress.com Image 1: Map of Seelampur have been able to access ration cards, water and electricity and, to a large extent, fuel for cooking. Most houses are connected to a government water supply along with access to water tankers. The new houses have in-built toilet facilities. Although cooking on gas cylinder still remains limited, people are able to buy fuel according to their requirements, for example, a smaller gas cylinder of 1-2 kilograms. (Rashmi, Women Frontline Worker, Interview, 20721). In December 2019, the Government of India passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which granted safe passage and citizenship rights to religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan except Muslims. The Act provoked outrage and highlighted the overt anti-Muslim and anti- minority sentiments of the Indian state. It was not only a violation of Article 14 of Indian Constitution but also in stark conflict with the rights to citizenship of Muslim minorities and Adivasi communities in India. Photo Courtesy: HT Media Ltd Photo Courtesy: P Photo/Manish Swarup Photo Courtesy: News18 Interestingly, frontline workers from Action India who had closely worked in providing relief support during the communal violence were vocal in Supporting the protest against CAA. They outlined the horrific conditions and the after-effects of the violence unleashed in Seelampur. One Frontline worker, Faheem who was involved in the provision of relief work, shared that people in Seelampur had suffered dire consequences due to the political violence; everything in their houses had been burnt down and they were left with nothing. Umeed Project was another group comprising young Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/UN0455357 and other riot-affected areas like Shiv Vihar, Mustafabaad, Gokulpuri and Kardampuri, numerous volunteer groups and networks were formed and came forward to provide monetary, material, or food and ration relief to the afflicted people. Since the presence of Action India at the grassroots level is well known, a volunteer group from Jama Masjid called ‘Youth Welfare Association’ approached the frontline workers of Action India to help them access beneficiaries. Many civil societies also approached and collaborated with Action India during the relief work. ‘When we used to visit the riot-affected areas, we would meet people from other NGOs but since these organisations did not work at the level of the field, they asked us to carry out the relief drive in the community.’ (Faheem, Interview 2021). Hence, beyond the state mechanism, grassroots organisations and community-based voluntary groups played a significant role in addressing the immediate crisis owing to their community base and knowledge. This network of organisations was During this crisis, several networks came together—the youth, voluntee! groups that were formed at the time of crisis with support from the community, and non-government organizations that were already present in the community. There was an understanding between the volunteer groups and civil society networks in considering the vulnerabilities in communities and outlining the course of action at the grassroot level. Frontline workers from Action India during this process informed that after the communal violence in Seelampur Photo Courtesy: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters Photo Courtesy: PRD Kerala Although food and ration were the most important and crucial needs that emerged, both beneficiaries and social workers reported that people were in urgent need of medicines for non-Covid illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, heart problems, and thyroid problems. Action India The process of preparing the list and identifying beneficiaries was Photo Courtesy: Representational/Express Photo by Manoj Kumar Photo Courtesy: PTI/Kamal Kishore Photo Courtesy: Danish Siddiqui/REUTERS Photo Courtesy: Indian Express The gaps in the relief extended by the state proved to be additionally challenging for non-state actors providing support to the community. Photo Courtesy: ANI CASE STUDY IV. BAWANA, DELHI Photo Courtesy: thewire.in/Hazards Centre Image 1: Map of Bawana Photo Courtesy: Vaibhav Parmar/Zee News Photo Courtesy: ABP Network Photo Courtesy: feminisminindia.com mentioned that people died of fever and other illnesses because the hospital refused to admit or even check them. services were available. (Ravi, Frontline worker, Interview 2021). Photo Courtesy:NDTV Photo Courtesy: Jagran Photo Courtesy: gallery.socialnews The central government initiative of providing cooked meal to most of the slum settlements in Delhi could be considered an important step, but it had several loopholes and could not serve the main purpose The initiative was taken by the government sometime after the lockdown was imposed, but frontline workers mentioned that when the lockdown was imposed, a lot of people did not have the food or money to survive even for another day or a week. The food distribution was not only delayed but also had some major loopholes. Most of the respondents said that the quantity of food was abysmally inadequate for the large number of people in JJ Colony. This indicates that the government had no idea about the actual requirements to feed the residents of JJ colony. While no one Photo Courtesy: Promise for Education Initially, individuals, groups and NGOs had come together and pooled their resources to organise food and relief The role of frontline workers was paramount to the crisis that the community faced. Frontline workers responded that they tried every possible thing to meet the needs of the people. Photo Courtesy: Cassar Lopez Balan/CARE 2016 Photo Courtesy: Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo Courtesy: businessinsider.com building of private toilets. Yamuna Khadar, one of the most deprived areas, had pockets within it that were even more marginalised, colloquially called ‘jungle’ (forest), ‘andar’ (inside) and ‘Yamuna paar’ (across the Yamuna). Piped water facilities were negligible in Yamuna Khadar; many people had to walk long distances to collect water from tankers supplied by the Delhi Water Board. As per the inhabitants in Bawana, of the 11 blocks only 4 blocks had access to water; people in other blocks have to either buy or depend on the other 7 blocks to fetch water. A greater problem for Bawana has been the environmental pollution caused by the concentration of factories in the area, particularly the garbage-to- energy plant that produces electricity for the city of Delhi but results in toxic gases and by-products for inhabitants of the area. Across the four areas, community toilets were more prevalent than private toilets, often facing issues of inadequate water supply and resulting in rInMhvnianir cnannnAitinnc imposition of a sudden national lockdown restricted the mobility of slum inhabitants that lived far from these shared access points. Women who shoulder a greater responsibility to collect care resources such as water, were at a greater risk of exposure to the virus. The lack of proper basic infrastructure, especially pertaining to water and sanitation that aretwo safeguards against Covid-19, exacerbated the already vulnerable situation of the slums (Duque Franco et al., 2020; Ghosh et al., 2020). Photo Courtesy: Reuters hoto Courtesy: PTI/Manvender Vashist Besides, bridging and linking aspects of social capital were absent when religion came into the picture. Religious differences, especially between Hindu and Muslim communities, were quite palpable in the study data. Especially in case of Seelampur area where residents had experienced horrific communal violence just prior to the Covid-19 lockdown resulting in the loss of life and property and displacement largely on the side of Muslims. A Covid lockdown soon after the communal situation when people were reeling with immense loss to life and property resulted in further panic. Hence, ‘some of the areas in Delhi that were worst hit by the lockdown were those same east Delhi areas that were affected by the communal violence. This is not surprising given that they were largely poor Muslim neighbourhoods, located at the outskirts of the city, and have numerous migrant worker settlements, all factors contributing to their being relatively neglected when it came to government welfare provision’ (Mohanty 2020). In other areas such as in Sanjay Camp and Bawana, Hindu and Muslim communities’ otherised’ each other Photo Courtesy: Getty Images Chart 1: Beneficary Vulnerablity Radar Based on the micro contexts, more such variables may be added to the chart to understand the intensity The actor category ‘beneficiaries’ were understood to be those who stood at the intersection of limited access to essential material and non-material resources such as those discussed in the previous section and dependent on external intervention for their survival needs during the Covid-19 lockdown. The vulnerability of the beneficiaries may be visualized in the form of a radar chart, where vulnerability in terms of access to resources for each beneficiary can be displayed on a Likert scale of 1 to 3;3 denotes ‘no access’, 2 denotes ‘some access’, and 1 denotes ‘better access’ to basic material resources such as water, housing, PDS, job and income security and non-material resources ciich as access to social canital or Photo Courtesy: Getty Images experience of the crisis at hand was shaped by previous sets of crises and marginalisations encountered by the slum community. The training received by front-line workers through these NGOs and collectives, knowledge and skills in social work, and their higher motivation to provide support to communities found in adverse situations enabled them to swing into immediate action even in this context. After the immediate entry of such frontline workers, more volunteers from the community were drawn in to support the relief efforts. Figure 1: The Position of Social Capital in the Care Diamond HL 1S GInY VELUPIe tie LY TIULe Uae over and above the mere presence of collectives and organisations, alliances between CBOs, concerned individuals and NGOs was crucial for this decentralised and intersectional approach including redistribution of caring roles, particularly at the micro and meso levels during the relief and emergency care provision directly to the affected people. However, alliances were also key for evidence-based advocacy meant for influencing state policies at the macro level. As the state ultimately has the resources, means and the scope to deliver, bridging relations between the state and the communities or building alliances with the state and civil society actors to provide an adequate care infrastructure for communities is the need of the hour. Photo Courtesy: edition.cnn.com
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