ALL

AFTER almost two and half months of lockdown, the Central government had declared the process of unlocking the lockdown. Like most parts of the country, Delhi too has been declared unlocked by the governments.

The lockdown was declared with the stated intention of halting the spread of Corona Virus. While the unplanned lockdown has massively failed to halt spread of the virus, it threw workers, poor, slum dwellers and students into great distress. The workers in the cities who run the economy and provide essential services were left without any food or money to survive the lockdown. Students struggled to attend online classes and pay rents demanded by landlords.

Among rising Corona spread, the Central as well as Delhi Government declared an ‘unlock’. The PM introduced the Atmanirbhar rhetoric in this context and the Delhi CM categorically asked people of Delhi to learn to live with Corona. Both meant that the people will have to deal with the devastation caused by the lockdown on their own.

The process of unlock has meant very little change from the disastrous lockdown for the people of Delhi.

The situation of hunger and starvation continues extensively for the workers of Delhi. The Delhi Government is planning to retreat from food/ration relief that was initiated during lockdown. With very little opportunity to get back their livelihood, the slum dwellers still struggle to get two meals a day.

del

 

Daily new cases of Corona continue to increase every day in Delhi. We have seen how the private hospitals started charging exorbitant fee for treating Corona patients. After such loot by private hospitals got exposed, the Government told us price of treatment in private hospitals has been capped. But if one looks at the rate of the capped prices, it becomes clear that a mockery has been done in the name of price capping. The Delhi Government as well as the Home Minister of India continue to claim credit for price capping, none has shown the will to take over private hospitals under the government to tackle the huge lack of infrastructure in Government hospitals.

Retrenchment and wage cut for workers continue unabated after the lockdown.

Workers and students are facing continuous harassment from landlords who are demanding increased rent to compensate for lockdown.

While both the Government of Delhi and the Central Government have left people of Delhi all alone to deal with the massive distress, the poor, workers, slum dweller and students of Delhi held both the Delhi and Central Government accountable for their backtrack from the responsibility of providing basic rights and livelihood of citizens.

On 30 June, the Prime Minister announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana till November 20. While this is being touted as a major package by the Government, its impact will be limited. There are millions of poor who do not have ration cards, the narrow criteria of being eligible for a Ration Card will leave millions outside the ambit of such schemes. The only solution is to Universalize PDS, which the Government has failed to do. We have also seen during the lockdown how the e ration card system of the Delhi Government failed because most of the poor could not register themselves for an e-ration card, it excluded more than it helped.

At the call of Left parties jointly, CPI-ML activists held protest demonstrations maintaining physical distance requirement in different parts of Delhi. Workers, slum dwellers, students, youth and women of Delhi took part in the protest. Protest demonstrations were held in Wazirpur Industrial Area, Narela, Vasant Vihar, Kalkaji, Najafgad, Kondli, Jhilmil Colony, Jamia, Shahdara and JNU.

de

 

The protesters demanded-

  • Universalisation of PDS- the Delhi government must start giving ration card to all excluded from PDS.
  • Free Public Health to All. The profit mongering of private hospitals must stop. The government must take over private hospitals for the same.
  • Stop retrenching workers
  • Ensure Rent Waiver for Students and Workers.
  • Enact Urban Employment Guarantee Act.
  • Give urgent Unemployment Allowance due to lockdown at the rate of 10,000 Rs per month.


For more updates, subscribe to
CPI(ML) Liberation Telegram Channel