September 2014
MNREGA is more like free-labour in Mahadepur
VV-PACS Community Correspondent Anil Kumar reports from Mahadepur in Uttar Pradesh, checking the ground realities of one of the most advertised policy of recent times: the MNREGA act (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme). The report shows hundreds of labourers haven’t been paid for their work. You can ensure they...
Securing concrete houses for dalits of Hullaspur
“For 60 years I have been living here and there is no sign of a house or a colony,” says Sita Devi, a resident of a Dalit suburb in Hullaspur village of Uttar Pradesh. The Housing and Development Board of India’s most populous state has failed 30 families, including that...
Brutalities in Bihar: Raped, Murdered and Disposed Off
Ever since the horrific incident of December 16 in the capital city, there has been a surge in reporting cases of gender violence. This surge, however, hasn’t done much to stop the acts of inhumane brutalities. In Begusarai district of Bihar, earlier this year in April, an 11-year-old girl was...
SUCCESS: Clean water supply made possible in a Mumbai slum
Access to safe water is a daily challenge for a majority of Indians. The worst affected communities are often those from lower socio-economic strata. For instance, in places like Mumbai, the worst effects of water crisis are seen in urban slums. Only those who can afford to pay private contractors...
Justice Denied: A case of casteism in Bihar
News reports from Bihar are scarcely positive, thanks to decades of incompetent and ignorant administration. The hope of development, on the basis of which Nitish Kumar was elected the chief-minister back in 2005, started to decay slowly and is non-existent today. Worse still, discrimination on the basis of caste still...
Sanjay Khobragade Case Update: Devkabai Khobragade speaks out against police brutality
In May 2014 Community Correspondent Alka Mate reported on the murder of Dalit rights activist Sanjay Khobragade from Kavalewada, Maharashtra. Six ‘upper caste’ individuals had murdered him over a land dispute. As Sanjay fought for his life and his family tried to get justice, they found that the law and...
Success: Waking a languid administration in Odisha
In the month of July last year, three families were thrown out of their house in Deultunda village of Bargarh district in Odisha. The mob, which chased them out of the village, mostly consisting of ‘upper-caste’ Hindus, also vandalised whatever little possessions they had. “They were drunk and chased us...
Flooded Drains; Absconding Officials
VV-PACS Correspondent Mister Alam reports from Juniyar village, Nalanda District in Bihar where an overflowing drain has become the breeding ground for illnesses jeopardizing the health and safety of families in 400 houses. You can help this community get a clean living environment today. Call to Action: Please call the...